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

Along With the Gods: The Last 49 Days (2018)

Along With the Gods: The Last 49 Days (2018) is the second film based on the webtoon series by Joo Ho-Min. Tibetan Buddhists believe that there is an in-between stage known as the bardo which can take up to 49 days.

The first film was Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds. In the previous film, Su Hong was a vengeful spirit roaming the earth.  In this sequel film, Su Hong (played by Kim Dong Wook), the vengeful spirit has now been taken into the afterlife. He must pass the series of heavenly court trials and prove that he has lived a virtuous life (not counting the time when he was misbehaving as a vengeful spirit).

If he is judged not guilty, he can be reincarnated.

Only ... he does not want to be reincarnated.

But? What will happen if he does not get reincarnated?

That causes a problem for the trio of guardians. Assisting souls and helping them get reincarnated are acts, “good deeds”, that are credited on their records. If they can help a certain number of souls get reincarnated they will also be allowed to reincarnate. They were once human and evidently, because of what they did in their past life, they were unable to prove their worth. So the gods in charge promised they could return to earth as mortals IF …

Su Hong's insistence that he does not want to be reincarnated is complicating matters for them.

But what did they do in their past life? 

Their memories were wiped. So they don't exactly know. In this sequel film, the life story of each guardian is revealed. It turns out there are some differences they need to resolve with each other. Su Hong's heavenly trials and the reconciliation of the relationships between guardians all take place in 49 days.

“Along With The Gods” Director Talks About Series + EXO’s D.O. Confirmed For Third Film | Soompi

• Where to Watch “The Last 49 Days”

Original source

Along With The Gods: The Two Worlds (2017) | Korean Drama That Explores the Afterlife and Reincarnation

Along With The Gods: The Two Worlds, released in 2017, is a film that explores Buddhist beliefs regarding the afterlife and reincarnation.  It is based on the webtoon series by Joo Ho-min.

Kim Ja Hong (played by Cha Tae Hyun, “Brain Works”) is a courageous firefighter who died in the line of duty. When he enters the afterlife he finds himself being escorted by a team of guardians. They inform him that he died and that he must go through seven (7) otherworldly courts. In each court, there are specific things that he has done in his life and he will either be judged innocent or guilty.

The Three Guardians are:

• Hae Won Maek (played by Joo Ji Hoon),
• Gang Rim (played by Ha Jung Woo), and
• Lee Deok Choon (played by Kim Hyang Gi).

They must attend each of his heavenly court trials, sort of as his team of defenders, and present proof that he has lived a virtuous life and therefore he should be reincarnated to live once again in the mortal realm. However, a problem has arisen that is making it difficult to prove his worth. It seems that his brother, Su Hong (played by Kim Dong Wook) has died a wrongful death, and has turned into a vengeful spirit. His brother's ghost is roaming around the earth venting his anger. Some of that anger is directed at Kim Ja Hong. He and his brother need to resolve their difference and reconcile with each other, so the trials can be completed. 

Of course, since Kim Ja Hong is dead and no longer on the earth, it might be hard to get in touch with his brother's spirit which has not left the earth. No worries. The guardians will find a way to bridge the two worlds.

Original source

Where to Watch ~ Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds

Rakuten Viki is Truly the Heart of Asian Entertainment

Rakuten Viki is an OTT video streaming website and there is no question that it is LEGIT. This media streaming service boasts that it is the “heart of Asian entertainment” and that is not brag, it's fact. I mainly go to the platform for Korean dramas but they have movies and TV shows that are Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Taiwanese, etc.

Image credit:  Amazon.com Download App

The parent corporation, Rakuten Group, Inc., is a Japanese technology conglomerate based in Tokyo, in business since 1997. Rakuten Viki is a subsidiary founded in 2007, and headquartered in California USA.

• FUN FACT: In 2011, this streaming service won the Crunchie award for best international start-up company.

When Rakuten acquired Viki (during 2013) it was a signal that Rakuten is positioning its $16 billion Internet services ecosystem as a competitor to Amazon and Netflix.

BEST FEATURES:

• Viki provides subtitles for 200 different languages. I love the English subtitles because the translation is very accurate. So far I have not seen any English-dubbed content like on Netflix. But I'm OK with reading the subtitles.

• Viki offers a wide range of content ~ films, series, etc. in various genres ~ released more than a decade ago up to the present; plus it produces its own original content. Their database is constantly updated. The company signed distribution deals with Hulu, Netflix, and others. So do not be surprised if you find Viki original content on other streaming platforms.

You can watch some content with ads. But they also have a subscription service which is very inexpensive. Based on my personal experience:

• I started with the Standard subscription for $4.99 per month; then

• Upgraded to Viki Plus for $9.99 a month.

I enjoy watching content on my Amazon Fire TV; but it can be viewed on desktops, laptops, or mobile devices. The app is available on Google Play. I have NO complaints about this streaming service and would definitely recommend it to others. 

Visit the official website: Viki.com

Subscribe to Viki Global TV on YouTube

Have you tried the Rakuten Viki streaming platform?

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