Boys Over Flowers (2009 Korean TV series)

K-drama television series are addictive. Why? Because of their special ingredient called “adorable cuteness”.

Example and Recommendation:

Boys Over Flowers (2009 Korean TV series)

Image credit: viki.com

It’s official! My kids have decided that their mother has lost all the marbles in her head. Why? K-drama television series. Very pleased with the business decision by Netflix to add such programs into their database. Even more pleased that many of the programs are available for viewing online free at various websites.


Can’t explain my reactions. Grew up on American television. My husband got me started watching foreign films. Once my kids began subscribing to Netflix and other similar video streaming services noticed that some of them were into binge-watching. One particularly boring day at home decided to binge-watch a BBC mystery because BBC television mysteries are my favorite. From that point, binge-watching became my way of treating myself to a healthy dose of doing … The Nothing! You know. Those days when you just decide you have earned your “Goof Off All Day” reward and no serious work will be done on that day!



However, even when indulging myself in binge-watching, never lost sleep over a TV show; and certainly never really thought any series was worth watching more than once. Might watch a few particular episodes a few times more. But never the whole series!

Did I say BBC mysteries “are” my favorite? Sorry. Meant to say “were”.

• Netflix Junkie (Especially BBC Mystery)

Huh?? Duh??!!
That was how my children reacted.
– (???) What could possibly make mom choose an alternative for the BBC?

Answer. Those silly cute adorable Korean drama television series that have incredibly simple yet intricate, seemingly never-ending storylines with each episode, that leave with the thought”: ‘Gotta find out how this ends!!’

My first taste of K-drama was a movie called “Commitment”. It was intense!!

Then my husband found a more light-hearted TV series called “Tamra the Island” It’s a romantic dramedy (drama and comedy blend) that was “Inspired by the real story of a Dutch explorer, a young Englishman discovers Kdrama in the 17th century Joseon Era”. (Quote source: dramafever)


One of the main characters was played by this tall handsome guy with the “skinny little body” whose name in the series was Park Gue, whose real name is Im Ju Hwan. I was impressed with him so search for more programs where he was playing a character.

This is where “Boys Over Flowers” comes in.

My research indicated that Hwan (Park Gue) had made an appearance in this show. Started watching the program only looking for him. Got stuck on it!! Got so stuck one night and didn’t go to sleep until about 4:30 in the morning!! Hwan did make an extremely brief appearance, after about 20 episodes. Talk about an Easter egg hunt! Anyway … glad someone realized this young man’s acting abilities and gave him the lead role in “Tamra the Island”.

Disappointed at only catching a tiny glimpse of Hwan in this TV show. However, my decision to view the entire series was filed under “Happy R&R Time Well Spent”.   Took me a few days to finish all the episodes. Will say no more because people hate spoilers. But if you like romantic dramedy, you’ll like “Boys Over Flowers”. Wonderful love story. It’s so cute!! 

Content previously published at BlogJob.com

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Perfect Marriage Revenge: 2023 VIKI Original Korean Drama Series

Perfect Marriage Revenge Could Easily Be Turned Into a Korean Soap Opera That Could Go On and On and On and …

Perfect Marriage Revenge is a 2023 VIKI Original Korean Drama Series with 16 episodes. The scriptwriters should consider stretching it out to 160 episodes. Loaded with hostile family drama where the relatives dream up ways to plot evil against each other, and then spend their waking hours making their dreams a harsh reality. You pity the children born into their homes because they are raised to carry on with the family traditions of performing acts of malice. Without a doubt, Perfect Marriage Revenge could be the best Kdrama soap opera ever!

“Perfect Marriage Revenge” is a romance/drama that tells the story of Han Yi-Joo, a young girl who was adopted into a rich family but never accepted as a part of the family. Meanwhile, her little sister is showered with love and spoiled rotten. Yi-Joo is constantly reminded by her “mother” who adopted her that she is “fake” and her little sister is “real”. Meaning that she should be thankful she was adopted and never try to receive all the wealth and property that should go directly to her little sister. Growing up in that home was hellish for Han Yi-Joo! Someone even tried to poison her, but they failed.

Han Yi-Joo was a gifted artist. No doubt she could use her God-given talent and create her own wealth. Instead, her mother convinced her to “copy” the originals of famous artists. Her mother told her the copied paintings would be donated to orphanages as a charitable donation. However, she sold them as “originals” to make money. 

One day her mother's fraud was exposed. She told Yi-Joo to submit a false confession and go to jail. Yi-Joo was so upset she jumped in her car and drove off. Sadly she got into a car accident and almost died. While hanging between life and death, she prayed for a second chance. If she could only relive her life she would not make the same ignorant and foolish mistakes.

Her prayer was answered. Instead of waking up in a hospital bed, she woke up in her own bed. When she checked the time she realized that she had gone back one year in the past. She had been given a second chance and now had the opportunity to change her past. But she only had one year to accomplish this.  She overheard her little sister say that she wanted to get married to Seo Do-Kook, a man who was one of the heirs to Taeja Group, a Korean conglomerate. Han Yi-Joo made up her mind that getting Seo Do-Kook to marry her would be the perfect marriage revenge.

MAIN CHARACTERS:

• Han Yi-Joo (played by Jung Yoo-Min)

• Seo Do-Kook (played by Sung Hoon)

This Viki Original Korean drama series is based on the webcomic “Wanbyeokhan Gyeolhonui Jungseok”. But in my opinion, it was the best soap opera ever!

LINKS OF INTEREST:

• Exclusive: Sung Hoon on Perfect Marriage Revenge … | Web Series | Hindustan Times

• Perfect Marriage Revenge (Webcomic) | TV Tropes

• Nine (9) 2023 Viki Original K-Drama Series to Binge-Watch | PopGeeks

The Matchmakers (2023): Viki Original Historical KDrama Series

The Matchmakers is a 2023 Viki Original Korean drama series, with 16 episodes. It is categorized as historical, romance, crime, and mystery, with light moments of comedy. 

The two main characters are a widow, disguised as a matchmaker, and a widower who is a prince working as a matchmaker according to a royal decree.

♦ The Widow and the Not So Merry Widower

Jung Soon-deok is a widow who becomes a matchmaker by personal choice. She is a widow, the daughter-in-law of a powerful political party leader. But she truly believes she is the “goddess of matchmaking”, i.e. Ssangyeonsulsa. It is not the kind of lowly work that a noble woman should do, so Jung Soon-deok keeps her true identity a secret by using the name “Yeo Joo Daek”. She didn't learn until later that the name she had taken as a disguise, was the name of a woman who was wanted for murder.

Shim Jung-woo is a Confucian scholar who scored the highest on the civil service exams. The king would been pleased if he could put this young man's intellect and skills to good use. But the leader of a corrupt political party, arranged for him to be married to the princess. On the day of the wedding, the princess dropped dead. He became a widower before he could even consummate the marriage. So now he's a prince who can not participate in political affairs or serve in any way other than being a prince, a member of the royal family.

♦ The King Makes a Promise

The king is furious and frustrated because he wants his son, the crown prince to marry and have an heir. But corrupt officials keep finding ways to prevent the marriage. He tells Shim Jung-woo to can come up with a way to thwart the efforts of the politicians so that the crown prince can marry. If he is successful, the king will have his marriage to the princess annulled.

Shim Jung-woo tells the king, to get a matchmaker to arrange marriages for the daughters of his close friend, who had passed away. But the plan was not so simple. Even if the politicians were not resorting to their treacherous tricks, the daughters themselves are all refusing to get married.

♦ The Widower and the Widow Become a Team

Shim Jung-woo needs to work with an experienced matchmaker since he knows nothing about the process. He meets Jung Soon-deok aka “Yeo Joo Daek” who agrees to assist him as long as he cooperates with her and follows her directions. He agrees, so now they are The Matchmakers.

The process of matchmaking is complex, but it gets even more complicated when they begin to uncover murders connected to political power schemes to overthrow the king and the crown prince.

On top of all this, the matchmakers ~ Shim Jung-woo and Jung Soon-deok ~ fall in love with each other. Theirs is a “match” that would break all of the rules.

Main Characters:

• Widower Shim Jung-woo (played by Ro Woon, )

• Widow Jung Soon-deok (played by Cho Yi-hyun)

This is a Viki Original series and Viki viewers rate this series 9.4 out of 10 stars. I agree. There was the main plot of forbidden love between a widow and a widower; a relationship that went against Joseon rules, customs, and traditions.

Then there were various subplots:

• Corrupt nobles, their wives, and the king's concubine, plotting against the king and the crown prince;

• True crime stories published as erotica novels;

• Old maidens (virgin women in their 20s) who need to get married ~ hence the need for matchmakers; and

• a slingshot!

The intricate plot-weaving kept me eagerly looking forward to the next episode.

LINKS OF INTEREST:

• The Matchmakers: Why You Should Watch This New K-Drama | Movie Web

• The Matchmakers: Viki Original Historical KDrama Series | PopGeeks

Content first published via Quora

Korean Movie: Remember (2022)

Remember (2022) is categorized as Historical, Thriller, Suspense; and Viki viewers gave it a rating of 9.6 out of 10 stars.  I agree. 

Pil-Ju is an elderly veteran who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's dementia. He is beginning to forget but does not want to forget the people who betrayed and destroyed his family during the Japanese occupation. In order to remember, he tattoed their names on his fingers.

Despite their age differences. In-Kyu considers Pil-Ju a trustworthy friend. Pil-Ju offers to pay him to be his chauffeur. In the beginning, he does not know Pil-Ju's backstory. He just thinks it's a driving job. However, when he learns what happened to Pil-Ju's family, he chooses to help him. In-Kyu has his own personal reasons for offering his support to the elderly veteran.

Main Characters:

• Lee Sung-Min plays Pil-Ju, a war veteran suffering from Alzheimer's disease

• Nam Joo-Hyuk plays In-Kyu, a young man who befriends the elderly veteran

Original source

K-Drama Series: See You in My 19th Life (Based on a Webtoon)

See You in My 19th Life is a K-drama series based on a webtoon of the same name; has 12 episodes; was released in 2023; and is currently streaming on Netflix.

The main character, Ban Ji-Eum, remembers her past lives: people and places. In her 18^th life, her name was Yoon Ju-Won, and her life was cut short because she was involved in a tragic car accident. She was in the car with the boy who was her first love, in that life, Mun Seo-Ha. She was reborn as Ban Ji-Eum and remembered him, but did not know if he had survived the accident. Since she remembered where he lived, she went to visit. From the gate, she looked into the yard and could see that he had survived. But of course, she could not approach him because he would not recognize her. She then hatched a plan to reunite with him and continue their love relationship. Before she died as Ju-won, she had promised she would come back to him. In other words, she would see him in her 19^th life. She fully intended to keep that promise.

Ban Ji-Eum's ability to remember her past lives was not how reincarnation is supposed to be. Others don't remember their past lives. They start each rebirth with a brand new life.

This series poses several questions:

• Why does Ban Ji-Eum remember her past lives?

• Is she the only one who can remember their past lives?

• Is there a way to erase these memories?

• If you had the choice, would you want to keep your memories from your past lives, or erase them?

As the story unfolds, these questions will be answered.  Although, if it were you, you might have come up with different answers.

Main Characters:

• Ban Ji-Eum (played by Shin Hye-sun)

• Mun Seo-Ha (played by Ahn Bo-Hyun)

See You in My 19th Life | WEBTOON

Original source

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Historical Period Korean Drama Series Review: Korea-Khitan War (2023)

Korea-Khitan War is a 2023 Korean drama series, with 32 episodes, currently broadcasting via KBS and streaming on Viki. Also available on also available for streaming on Wavve, Kocowa, and on Netflix in selected regions.

Korea-Khitan War is a historical period Korean drama series about the war between Goryeo and the Khitan Empire during the reign of King Hyeonjong.

♦ The War Between Goryeo and the Khitans Lasted 26 years

“Korea-Khitan War” begins with a scene of a bloody battle. It is the 10 century in East Asia, and the fierce Khitans have been successfully conquering various peoples. Their empire covered the regions from Liaodong to Mongolia and are now they were determined to conquer Goryeo.

The people of Goryeo, though outnumbered, were equally determined to fight the Khitans and not become subjugated. After those intense scenes showing how intense the fighting was between Goryeo and the Khitans, there is a flashback that shows what had happened several years earlier, before the war began.

♦ King Hyeonjong is Crowned Emperor

Kang Cho was 70 years old and a loyal subject of Goryeo. He was a seasoned warrior, understood politics, could offer wise counsel to the emperor, was not afraid to confront the kingdom's enemies, and took the risk of being branded as a traitor when he assassinated the emperor, King Mokjong, to clear the path for a new leader.

The new leader is King Hyeonjong, the last grandson of Taejo of Goryeo, who ascended to the throne at the age of 19.

Gang Gam-chan was an elderly statesman. He had been living in the countryside but returned to the palace and the court to serve the new emperor. King Hyeonjong appreciated his forthright comments. He did not use double-speak, offered the king sound and wise advice, and helped him understand politics.

Once the emperor realized that war could not be avoided, he made Kam Chan Commander-in-Chief, giving him the authority and responsibilities for defending Goryeo against the Khitan invasion.

Rather than cut off the head of Kang Cho, the young King Hyeonjong bestowed upon him the emperor's ax and sent him off to war. The king promised that when he returned triumphantly, he would no longer be marked as a traitor.

This series is based on the novel “Goryeo–Khitan War: Sweet Rain in the Winter”.

Main Characters:

• King Hyeonjong (played by Kim Dong-Joon)

• Kang Cho (played by Lee Won-Jong)

• Gang Gam-chan (played by Choi Soo-Jong)

REF:  Korea-Khitan War: King Hyeonjong Leads Goryeo to Victory

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Korean Drama Series Review: Miraculous Brothers (2023)

In "Miraculous Brothers", the two main characters ~ Yook Dong-Joo and Lee Kang San ~ meet each other by accident. But perhaps the accident that brought them together was actually a miracle. This Korean drama series was released in 2023 and has 16 episodes.

Some people are chasing after a young man and he is running for his life. The night is dark, it's raining, and just as lightning strikes he runs into the street and gets hit by a car. The driver of the car takes him to a hospital where he is pronounced dead. While in the hospital's Emergency Room, the driver hears someone calling “Brother! Brother!” Not sure where the voice is coming from, he approaches the bed where the young man is lying dead from his injuries. When he leans in closely, without realizing it, his breath goes into the young man's nostrils and his eyes open. HE'S ALIVE!! It's a MIRACLE!

Lee Kang San is alive but he is suffering from amnesia and doesn't even know who is. Except he does remember having a backpack, although he can't remember what was inside the backpack. Yook Dong-Joo is keeping something a secret and kind of hopes Kang San won't remember. If Kang San regains his memory, Dong-Joo will want to be there so he can explain his actions and beg for forgiveness. Since Yook Dong-Joo was the driver, he accepts responsibility by allowing Kang San to come and live with him.

Lee Kang San has no memory but discovers that he has superpowers. He hears voices, can feel the pain of others, and can disappear and reappear. Dong-Joo advises him to keep his special abilities a secret.

At first, Dong-Joo is worried that Kang San would find out he stole the manuscript that was in his backpack. But he becomes even more anxious because:.

• An anonymous phone caller tells him that the manuscript should have never been published. He realizes someone else must know he stole the manuscript. If they know, then what are they after? Is he in danger?

• A police detective tells him that the murders written about in the manuscript are actually happening. Not only that but the present-day murders are linked to a 27-year-old murder case.

Dong-Joo begins to do research on his own about the murders and makes a shocking discovery. It appears that Lee Kang San is a TIME TRAVELER!

Things just keep getting more and more complicated. 

Main Characters:

• Yook Dong-Ju (played by Jung Woo)

• Lee Kang San (played by Bae Hyun-Sung)

"Miraculous Brothers" is streaming on Viki and Netflix. 

Korean Drama Series: The Village: Achiara's Secret (2015)

The Village: Achiara's Secret is a crime and mystery K-drama series with 16 episodes.

A serial rapist and murderer (SRM) has evaded capture by the police for 30 years. Han So-Yoon, a young English teacher receives an anonymous letter regarding a sister she thought was dead. She relocates from Canada to Achiara, a small village in Korea, to find her sister, Kim Hye-Jin. Shortly after arriving, she accidentally discovers her sister's skeletal remains. It is clear her sister died a violent death.

• Law enforcement officials think she may have been a victim of the SRM they have been trying to capture.

• Political officials have an agenda and a “secret”. Investigating Kim Hye-Jin's death might expoe the secret and thwart their agenda. They push to close the case as an accidental death. But the politicians are not the only ones in the village with secrets.

• Han So-Yoon does not believe her sister was an SRM victim, nor does she believe her death was accidental. The coroner said Kim Hye-Jin's body had been buried for at least two (2) years. Two years? In such a small village where everybody knows everybody, her sister had been missing for two years and nobody asked about her? WHY? Han So-Yoon is determined to find out who brutally murdered her sister and why. But the more she tries to uncover the truth, the more people of the village try to hide Achiara's Secret.

With each episode, more questions get asked. Slowly but surely, Han So-Yoon begins to unravel the mystery of crimes that investigators had been trying to solve for 30 years, along with other crimes, including her sister's murder. It was a very intricate web.

Main Characters:

• Han So-Yoon played by Moon Geun-Young

• Park Woo-Jae played by Yook Sung-Jae

• Yoon Ji-Sook played by Shin Eun-Kyung

• Kim Hye-Jin played by Jang Hee-Jin

• Seo Gi-Hyun played by On Joo-Wan

• Seo Yoo-Na played by Ahn Seo-Hyun

Where to Watch

Korean Drama TV Series: Destined With You (2023)

Destined With You is a Korean drama a fantasy rom-com series, with 16 episodes, released in 2023.  

This K-drama series is a love story between Lee Hong Jo, a lowly civil servant at Onju City Hall and Jang Shin Yu, a successful lawyer who was hired to work for the city's Mayor.

• Jang Shin Yu suffers from an illness and when he tries to sleep he is tormented by a bloody hand that caresses his face. His illness is actually a centuries-old curse.

• Lee Hong Jo discovers that she is the owner of a box that contains a book of magic spells. Is there is a spell that can lift his curse?

These two people have a past-life connection. During the Joseon Era, Jang Shin Yu was Jang Mu Jin, a wealthy young nobleman who fell in love with a shaman named Aeng Cho. Lee Hong Jo was Aeng Cho, the shaman. It was a forbidden union that ended tragically. They meet again in modern times. Will their love survive this time? They are both told that whether tragedy or happiness, their destinies could not be severed. They are destined to be with each other.

Main Characters:

• Jang Shin Yu | Jang Mu Jin (played by Ro Woon, “The Kings' Affection”; “Tomorrow”)

• Lee Hong Jo | Aeng Cho (played by Jo Bo Ah)

• Rowoon’s New Drama ‘Destined With You’: Cast, Plot, Review, Episode Schedule, And More | TheBeauLife

• Enjoying Destined With You? Top 4 K-Dramas You Need To Add To Your Watchlist Starring Rowoon | Filmfare.com

• 'Destined With You' on Netflix Review: Stream It Or Skip It? | Decider

K-Drama Review: Crash Course in Romance (2023)

Crash Course in Romance is categorized as a romantic comedy, which is why the murder mystery woven into the plot was so surprising. Face it! Math teachers are boring! How could a writer possibly make their life exciting and interesting? 

This Korean drama series has 16 episodes and is streaming on Netflix. Where to Watch.

Image credit: Netflix.com

The main characters are:

• Choi Chi-yeol (played by Jung Kyung-ho) is a star math teacher at a prestigious private academy, The Pride; and
• Nam Haeng-seon (played by Jeon Do-yeon), is the owner of “Nation’s Best Banchan”, a side dish store in Seoul.

Choi Chi-yeol is a brilliant teacher who knows all about math but zero about romance. He needs someone with a generous heart like Nam Haeng-seon to teach him. He could benefit from a crash course in romance.

The first time they meet is crazy! Choi Chi-yeol guards his privacy and thinks someone is trying to take his photo without his permission. The photographer is Nam Haeng-seon's brother. But he wasn't trying to photograph Choi Chi-yeol. He only wanted a picture of the tiger that was on the jacket that Choi Chi-yeol was wearing. It leads to a misunderstanding and he tries to take the camera and run with it. Nam Haeng-seon sees this and chases after him. That's how they meet and this encounter leads the both of them to think that the other person is INSANE!

For years, Choi Chi-yeol has had a problem when he eats food. For some reason his stomach gets upset and he can not digest the food. But one day his personal assistant buys food for him from Nam Haeng-seon's Banchan restaurant. To his surprise, he enjoys the dishes. But when he realizes that the lady who owns the restaurant is the same lady who chased after him, he tries to disguise himself so that he can enter her place of business as a “regular old ordinary customer”. She eventually recognizes him.

The final encounter is what really connects them. The lives of the two main characters intersect because Nam Haeng-seon's daughter is one of Choi Chi-yeol's math students. She is so good that even when the ruthless moms connive and scheme to get her thrown out of The Pride academy, he is willing to tutor her privately. The time he spends tutoring the daughter spills over into time spent with the mother and them getting to know each other. A romance develops between the two of them, but there are many complications that occur in their lives that threaten their relationship.

“Crash Course in Romance” was exciting, interesting, and very entertaining. My personal rating for the K-drama series is 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Original source

Café Minamdang | Comedy Korean Drama Netflix Series

Café Minamdang is a K-drama series based on the web novel titled Minamdang: Case Note, written by Jung Jae-ha. This series is 18 episodes, released in 2022, and currently streaming on Netflix.

Nam Han-joon (played by Seo In-guk) worked in law enforcement as a criminal profiler but was framed for a crime he did not commit. After being released from prison since he could not return to his old job, he decides to become a shaman.  

• Nam Hye-joon (played by Kang Mi-na) - Nam Han-joon's sister, who is a former NIS ace (NIS=National Intelligence Service). When it comes to electronic technology, she knows everything!

• Gong Soo-cheol (played by Kwak Si-yang) works as a barista during the day at Café Minamdang and at night he's a homicide detective. He is also is Nam Han-joon's best friend.

• Jo Na-Dan (played by Baek Seo-Hoo) is a part-time employee and every once in a while he gets recruited to work with the shaman on “special jobs”.

• Lieutenant Han Jae-hui (played by Oh Yeon-seo) aka “Han the Ghost”, is a homicide detective assigned to the Major Crimes Investigation Division Seven as the Team Leader.

In addition to performing her duties, Han Jae-hui is quietly investigating the death of her brother who served as a prosecutor. She suspects Nam Han-joon of being involved in criminal activities. What she does not realize is that the people responsible for her brother's murder are also the ones who framed Nam Han-joon.

Initially, she thinks Nam Han-joon's shamanic shenanigans are interfering with her investigative work. But actually, both of them have crime-fighting goals. Eventually, they agree to coordinate and work together on an investigative effort.

Café Minamdang is 18 episodes, released in 2022, and currently streaming exclusively on Netflix. The IMDb Rating is 7.4 out of 10 stars. I agree.

Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938 | K-Drama Series Season 2

Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938 is the sequel to Tale of the Nine-Tailed and fans of Lee Dong-wook are super excited to see him playing the gumiho we all love, again!

In Tale of the Nine-Tailed (Season 1), Lee Yeon (played by Lee Dong-Wook, “Bad and Crazy”) is a 1000-years-old Gumiho. Having to live 1,000 years without the woman you love is a punishment. He hopes this punishment will end one day when he finally meets her again. According to legend, the Gumiho has to wait for a thousand years to turn into a human being. But if he finds the woman and they can be together, a thousand years was worth the wait.

However, it's not so simple to live for 10 centuries, find the woman you love, and live happily forever after, when you have two enemies that try to stop it from happening:

• an angry kid brother who feels that his big brother forsook him; and
• an evil serpent beast who has “issues”.

Both enemies have their reasons for wanting REVENGE!

It’s a challenge. But hey!  Love conquers all. Right?

RE:  Season 2:  How Did the Fox Brothers Go Back to 1938?

Tale of the Nine-Tailed, Season 1, is 17 episodes. When the main storyline began, it was the year 2020. All of the events that occurred went forward in time, not backward. So how did the gumiho brothers end up in the year 1938, during the Japanese Occupation of Korea? Uuhh? There was an unexpected turn of events.

Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938 is a K-Drama Series that premiered on Korean television in May 2023 and is available on streaming platforms in selected regions. (Where to Watch in USA.)

My Perfect Stranger is the Perfect for Time Travel K-Drama Lovers

Korean scriptwriters often come up with some very interesting time travel plots.  My Perfect Stranger is a perfect time travel K-drama.   

Two perfect strangers end up traveling back to 1987, both with two completely different objectives they wish to accomplish.  But as they begin to unravel certain events, they discover that their purposes are connected.  

However, it's the past.  Everything has already happened.  Can they really turn back the clock?  If they could it would be wonderful,  Especially since turning back the clock would result in preventing a serial killer from ever committing the crimes in the first place.

Hae Jun (played by Kim Dong Wook) works as an anchorman at a news station. One day as he is driving his car, his GPS starts acting weird and the voice announces that the directions have changed. Why do weird and strange things always happen on dreary rainy nights? Following the GPS directions he drives into a tunnel and is blinded by a bright light. He stops his car, gets out, and finds an abandoned car. At least …??? It looked like a car. It was actually a time machine. So he did what anybody else would do if they found a time machine. He got inside and tested it to see if he would really travel through time. First, he went to the future and then he went to the past. It was a blast!

But then he decided that since he had already made plans for what he would be doing once he retired, might as well travel to the future life to see if his life had worked out just the way he planned it. His future was not the way he planned it. He had been murdered! That was not a blast. It was a shock!

So! What would be your next thought? Time machine? My murder?

Go back in time to prevent the crime from happening!

Since he had successfully tested the time travel machine, going back and forth between the past and the present was easy. Just get in the car, set the year, and voila! You're there. But this one time, as he was driving through the tunnel, he sees a young woman standing in the pathway. 

The woman is Baek Yoon-young (played by Jin Ki-joo), an editor who works at a publishing company. He swerves to try to avoid hitting her but somehow they both end up in the year 1987. She is from the same time period that he was from, i.e. the year 2021.

But why was this woman brought back in time with him?

To him, she's a perfect stranger. For her, the feeling is mutual. She doesn't know him either!

They both have two different purposes for wanting to go back in time. However, as they begin to unravel certain events, it turns out their objectives are intertwined. 

• The death of Baek Yoon-young's mother was recorded as a suicide, but it is possible that it was murder. She needs to know the truth.
• Hae Jun is trying to find a serial killer in the hopes of preventing his own murder 30 years later. 

The first murder occurred in 1987 and it took place in Woojeong Village.  He and Yoon-young begin working together to unravel the mystery. They have a clue that is rather cryptic. There was a matchbox from the Boong Boong Cafe found at the scene of the first crime and it contained a note: “A woman who reads is dangerous.”

What could that possibly mean?

My Perfect Stranger is an extremely believable time travel drama and the murder mystery is a riveting crime thriller. The Viki viewing audience rated My Perfect Stranger, 9.5 out of 10 stars. I agree.

K-Drama Review: L.U.C.A.: The Beginning (2021) | Make the World Better By Making Better Humans

L.U.C.A.: The Beginning is a Korean drama about a mad scientist who thinks he's good enough to be like God. In fact, he's convinced himself that he can make better humans than God.

This series is 12 episodes, released in 2021, currently streaming on Viki. As for the genre? It has elements of crime and mystery and elements of science that might have the viewer wondering if it's science fact or science fiction.

• According to current science, the Last Universal Common Ancestor, L.U.C.A. Is the ancestor of all living things, and is estimated to have lived some four billion years ago, when Earth was a mere 560 million years old.

First, a woman supplied her ovum and a man supplied his sperm. You don't need to be a scientific genius to know that is the beginning of human life. But! Suppose after you joined the ovum and the sperm, you combined human DNA with DNA from jellyfish, fruit flies, electric eels, and other animals. Now! Is the baby a human? A monster? A half-human, half-monster?  

Ryu Joong-kwon (played by Ahn Nae-sang) is a scientist who thinks that ethics hinder the research and advancement of science. He found people who were willing to fund his unrestricted research, so he was able to perform numerous kinds of scientific experiments. Only one of his experiments was successful. He genetically engineered an artificially enhanced child who was named Ji Oh. 

• L.U.C.A. stands for Last Universal Common Ancestor. Ji Oh (played by Kim Rae Won) is L.U.C.A.  This is his beginning.

K-Drama Review: 100 Days My Prince (2018) ~ Season 2 Confirmed for 2024

100 Days My Prince (2018) is a historical period K-drama, with 16 episodes, currently available on popular streaming sites such as Netflix, Viki, and Amazon Prime.  

"100 Days My Prince Series season 2nd not a secret now. We're expecting it to land on Saturday, May 11, 2024 almost same time as previous. Here's all we know about the upcoming part of the history."  (Source)

For those who have not watched Season 1, below is a recap.

Plot Summary

In the beginning episode, we meet the young boy who will become the prince and the young girl that he falls in love with and promises to marry.  Like typical historical Korean dramas, it is loaded with political power struggles between ruthless court officials and of course, there's a touching love story. 

Childhood Trauma

A young prince witnesses horrific bloodshed and commands that it be stopped. Since he is a small child, his command is disregarded and he is returned to his father; only to learn that it was his father who ordered the bloodshed. To add insult to injury, his mother is “accidentally” killed (really she was murdered). 

From that day forward, he not only hates his father, HE HATES EVERYBODY!

Everybody except his close friend from childhood.  Everybody should have at least one true friend in this world. 

Two Marriages of Convenience?

The prince is forced into a marriage of convenience.  His wife, the princess, becomes pregnant by another man. In an effort to cover up her infidelity, the father-in-law (the father of the princess) attempts to kill the prince. The assassination attempt fails. However, while trying to escape his assassins, the prince falls down a slope and hits his head. A poor man finds him and takes care of him as best he can while he is unconscious. 

When he regains his consciousness, he does not remember who he is. When he was the prince he had given an order that all spinsters get married.  The poor man's daughter has not yet obeyed this command and time is running out.  The poor man is desperate to save his daughter from being punished for disobeying the law.  She is in peril and could be flogged to dearth.  So he the prince that he is his daughter's husband-to-be and that they must marry immediately.  Another marriage of convenience? 

What Happened During 100 Days

For 100 days, he lives the simple life of a commoner and falls in love. He is found by his father-in-law and brought back to the palace. His memory has not returned. But slowly bits and pieces of incidents from his past, like puzzle pieces, begin to fit together. His story begins … AGAIN! 

Gradually he realizes who he is and what he needs to do, i.e. fight against those who want him dead.  But he also knows what he wants to do, i.e. marry the woman he fell in love with as a commoner.  Eventually, he'll discover that she is the little girl he met when he was a child and had promised he would marry anyway.  Sadly, along the timeline from their childhood to young adults, many many unhappy and tragic events have occurred.

Will the prince overcome his opponents and will he and the woman he loves be able to live happily ever after?

• Do Kyung Soo stars as Prince Yul; and
• Nam Ji Hyun plays Yi Seo, the woman he truly loves.

RATING

Most viewers gave this series 4.8 out of 5 stars or 9.5. out of stars.  I agree.  To date, 100 Days My Prince stands as "the 11th highest-rated drama in Korea" (Source); and fans are super excited for Season 2.

Original source

If you are a Do Kyung-Soo (D.O.) fan, while you're waiting for 2024 to arrive, check out these:

• Swing Kids (2018)

• Along With the Gods: The Last 49 Days (2018); AND Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds | Singwa Hamgge- Joewa Beol (2017)

• Bad Prosecutor (2022)

K-Drama Review: The Sound of Magic | Music. Magic, and Murder?

The Sound of Magic is a Korean drama based on the webtoon titled “Annarasumanara”; streaming on Netflix, released in 2022. It's only 6 episodes and is categorized in the Musical genre.

One does not usually expect a murder mystery to start with a song and dance routine. For this reason, my initial impression of episode 1 was confusion. (O.o)  Nevertheless, I decided to watch the series from start to finish and was pleasantly surprised. 

Yoon Ah-yi (played by Choi Sung-eun) is a high school student who is going to school, works part-time, and takes care of her little sister. She and her younger sibling were deserted by both parents. This young lady is having a hard-knock life.

Ri Eul / Ryu Min-hyuk (played by Ji Chang-wook) is … a young man who wears a top hat and insists that he is “a real magician”. He lives in an abandoned amusement park. When you first meet this character, you might think he's a bit weird. But you certainly don't think he's a murderer.

QUESTION: Is it possible that this “real magician” can really make real problems disappear?

She was hoping he could make her real problems go away.  But when he is arrested for the murder of one of her classmates she is in disbelief.  His real problem compared to her problems is HUGE!

♦ I gave this Netflix series 4 out of 5 stars. The story and the soundtrack were “magical”.

Read the full review on PopGeeks.com

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LINKS OF INTEREST:

4 Things We Loved And 1 Thing We Hated About The Premiere Of “The Sound Of Magic” | Soompi

Series Review: Why The Sound of Magic is Saving K-Dramas in 2022 | PopMachine

Netflix's 'The Sound of Magic' sets new records as it is garnering much popularity overseas | allkpop

'The Sound of Magic' Netflix Review: Stream It or Skip It?

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