K-Drama Review: Delivery Man (2023)

Scriptwriters for Delivery Man get A+++ for their creativity.  A taxi service for ghosts?  What an unusual storyline.

A taxi service for ghosts? Seo Young Min (played by Yoon Chan Young), is a cab driver who discovers that he can see and hear ghosts. These wandering souls are unable to leave this world because when they departed this life, they had some unfinished business. He starts a service where he picks up these lingering souls, and helps them finish what needs to be done so that they can be delivered into the afterlife.

It proves to be a profitable business endeavor. Only …? His first ghost passenger is Kang Ji Hyun (played by Minah). Her problem is not so easy to solve because she has no memory of who she is and why she ended up in his taxi cab. But she does prove to be a valuable assistant and with her help, Seo Young Min can help his other ghost passengers pass on to the next world.

This series was released in 2023 and is only 12 episodes. Viki viewers rated it 9.3 out of 10 stars.

Read full review at PopGeeks: Delivery Man | Viki Original Korean Drama Series

K-Drama Adapted from a Webtoon: The Heavenly Idol (2023)

The Heavenly Idol is a 2023 Korean Drama series, adapted from a webtoon, titled "Sungseureowoon Idol”, by Shin Hwa-Jin. 

The writers poked fun at the entertainment industry and in particular, K-Pop boy groups. But it was done in good humor and good taste; and not meant to be insulting or derisive. In addition, I became a fan of Kim Min Kyu when he played the king in “Queen: Love and War”. In “The Heavenly Idol, he did a great job playing both a high priest from the other world and an idol in the new world. Since he had the lead role, I would not be willing to give the show a lower rating.

Per this user review found at IMDb: “The Heavenly Idol is quite frankly a perfect romantic comedy. It has a very wide range cast of characters that are all so much fun to watch, with each one adding a little bit of flair to the overall plot line. The story is fun, interesting, and just different enough to make it stand out from the crowd.”

I could not have said it better.

Lembrary (played by Kim Min Kyu) is a loyal and pure high priest who serves the god Redlin. Right at the precise moment that he is about to eliminate the Devil, he gets a splitting headache. When he opens his eyes and can see clearly he is shamefully dressed in black. I mean … he's a high priest and his bare abdomen is showing.  What happened to his long white robe?  That's not all. His hair is short, it's a different color, and his name is Woo Yeon-Woo. He's supposed to be a sexy male idol, a member of a not-so-successful K-Pop boy group called Wild Animal. Sexy? Idol? Wild? How vulgar!  The spirit of Lembrary, the high priest of Redlin, is trapped in the body of Woo Yeon-Woo. 

Kim Dal (played by Go Bo-Gyeol) met Woo Yeon-Woo (BEFORE he became possessed by Lembrary). He gives her an autographed CD and encourages her with kind words. He tells her that she'll be alright and he knows this because he has a gift for healing people. From that moment forward Kim Dal becomes a devoted fan of Woo Yeon-Woo.

***

Guess who else came to the “new world”: The Devil!

The Devil (played by Lee Jang Woo) switched bodies with Shin Jo-Woon, the Chairman of RU Entertainment. His presence is not an accident. He has been sent from the other world to kill Lembrary.  His minions are recruited by another being from the other world, who heads up an organization called the Red Rain Battalion in the new world. It's surprising how many humans are willing to sell their souls. Where does the RRB find so many willing souls? Uuuh … celebrities in show business. Where else?

Read my full review of The Heavenly Idol at PopGeeks.com.

Kokdu: Season of Deity | Viki Original Korean Drama Series

Kokdu: Season of Deity is a Viki Original Korean Drama Series, released 2023.  How long does a season of deity last? 99 days. During that time, Kokdu, a cruel angry death god, needs to find a woman, win her heart, and she must say the words “I love you”. 

Image credit:  Viki.com

Kokdu is a really mean and nasty death god, who is being punished because he incurred the wrath of the Creator. The only way he can be freed from this punishment is if a woman who knows how awful he is but still falls in love with him, faults and all. Like the fairy tale, “Beauty and the Beast”? Eh! Sort of. 

Kokdu Was Once a Human

Before he became a vengeful, hateful, angry, merciless, really mean, and nasty god, he was a human named Oh-hyeon. He was a handsome warrior in Silla, one of the three kingdoms in ancient Korea. He lost his life because he loved Seol Hui, a woman who had been gifted as a concubine to another man. The plan was for the two of them to run away together. Their plan was discovered and he was killed. Seol Hui decided that she did not want to live without him and so she committed suicide. 

In the afterlife, he was always angry and he refused to obey any commands received from the Creator. For him, there was no punishment that could be worse than what he had already experienced in the land of the living.  He was wrong.  It is much more painful and lasted much longer.  The Creator made him the death god and every 99 years he is reincarnated to visit the land of the living.  He is allowed to be there for 99 days, i.e. for a "season".  During this season of deity, he hopes that he will find the woman who can end his punishment.

• Kim Jung-hyun plays Kokdu / Oh-hyeon / Doctor Do Jin-woo.

• Im Soo-hyang plays Seol Hui / Doctor Han Gye-jeol.

Read the complete review at Popgeeks.

Viki Original Korean Drama Series: The Red Sleeve (2021)

"The Red Sleeve" is a Viki Original Korean drama series released in 2021.  It is based on the love story between King Jeongjo and Royal Noble Consort Ui-bin Seong. 

Image credit: “The Red Sleeve” (2021)

• “The drama is based on historical records such as the fact that Uibin Seong, whose real name is Seong Deok-im, rejected Jeongjo's proposal to make her his concubine, not just once but twice. ...” (Source)

Lee Jun-ho plays Yi San, later King Jeongjo. He continuously strives to be a good king; a ruler who is kind and benevolent to his people. During the Joseon Era, everybody knows that all of the women in the palace are the king's women. He can have free access to any woman he chooses and does not have to ask their permission. The king knows this is the rule. But aren't the court ladies also his people?

Court ladies in the palace wear uniforms that have a red cuff on their sleeves. The king is attracted to a particular court lady named Seong Deok-im played by Lee Se-young. He does not want his relationship with her to be based on fear. He wants her to love him and willingly become his woman. Seong Deok-im initially resists the king's advances toward her. She feels that her life as a court lady affords her a certain amount of freedom. If she becomes the king's woman, she will no longer be free. If she becomes the mother of his children, she can not love and cherish them as an ordinary mother. They are her children, but they are also royal children and if they are sons they are heirs to the throne.

She eventually falls in love with the king but still tries to resist becoming his woman. In the end, LOVE WINS. She becomes Royal Noble Consort Ui-bin Seong. Just as she predicted, she did have to give up her freedom. The king was very happy to have her by his side and she was happy to be by his side. But she was not completely happy because in order to live as the king's woman, she had to sacrifice her free spirit. Not to mention, since it was obvious to everyone that she had the king's favor, some of the other king's women were “haters”. You can imagine the malicious backbiting she endured from them.

This series is 16 episodes and it is a very sad love story. There was no fairy tale ending. Choosing to marry the prince or the king does not always result in living happily ever after.

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Under the Queen's Umbrella: Korean Drama TV Series on Netfilx Released in 2022

Under the Queen's Umbrella is a Korean historical period drama series, released in 2022, that is currently streaming on Netflix. 

16 intense episodes. Viewers gave this series 4.9 out of 5 stars. I totally agree.  Kim Hye-Soo's performance as Queen Im Hwa-Ryeong is award-worthy. But giving credit where credit is due, quite frankly, all of the actors and actresses in this series gave exemplary performances. They played their roles as if they were real historical figures in the Joseon Era.

The worth of the flowers in the palace, i.e. the king's women, is judged by how many sons they bare the king. 

 Queen Im Hwa-Ryeong (played by Kim Hye-Soo) has been very fortunate. She bore five (5) sons for the king. Her oldest son is the crown prince, but he is suffering from a life-threatening illness. He could die any day! If he were to die, who would take his place? The crown prince already has a son of his own, so according to the line of succession, his son, her grandson, should be heir to the throne. Then as alternatives, one of his brothers, her four other sons who are grand princes, could be chosen. But her sons are perfectly content to never be king. She would have been content to allow them not to pursue the throne EXCEPT … the deposed queen (i.e. the queen before her) also had many sons.  When she realized the lives of her sons were in jeopardy, she immediately made up her mind that her sons would not suffer the same fate as Queen Yoon and her sons.

Queen Im Hwa-Ryeong now understands that THIS IS WAR!

Read full review at My Sageuk Addiction on Medium.com.

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Viki Original Korean Drama Series: Queen: Love and War (2019)

Queen: Love and War was released in 2019.  In this Viki Original Korean drama series, a young prince meets and makes friends with a nobleman's daughter, when they were children. An accident happens on a boat and the girl he met is tossed overboard. Her father believes that she drowned. Her twin sister grows up and the prince, now king chooses her to be his bride; not realizing that she is the twin sister and NOT the girl he met when he was younger. Corrupt officials arrange to have both King Lee Kyung and his queen, Kang Eun Bo, assassinated on their wedding day. They succeed in killing the sister but the king miraculously comes back to life. The people are terrified of him. How can he possibly come back from the dead? 

Image credit:  “Queen: Love and War” (2019)

Coming back from the dead isn't all.  Let's not forget about the prophecy. Twins were supposed to be an evil omen. It's the reason nobody knew that the nobleman had twin daughters. He kept their birth a secret for fear they would be harmed.

The twin sister realizes that her sister has been murdered. She takes her sister's body and secretly buries it. Then she returns to the palace AS IF she has also risen from the dead, just like the king. The king not knowing that she is the young girl he had met as a child, also believes that his wife has come back to life. However, the twin sister's main purpose for returning to the palace is to discover who murdered her sister. For all she knew, even the king may have been involved. 

As she investigates to uncover the truth, she eventually realizes the king is innocent and falls in love with him. The problem is that she has already deceived him into believing that she is the one who died. This makes their personal relationship very complicated. AS IF life in the palace wasn't already complicated with all of the scheming, conniving, ruthless, greedy politicking that was going on.

• Kim Min-kyu plays the king, Lee Kyung

• Jin Se-yeon plays the twin sisters, Kang Eun-bo and Kang Eun-gi

This series is 16 episodes. It's love and war alright and the queen is right in the middle.

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Viki Original Korean Drama Series: Grand Prince (2018)

Grand Prince is a Viki Original Korean drama series released in 2018. This 21-episode series is historical fiction, although it is loosely based on the true stories of Grand Prince Anpyeong and King Sejo.

Image credit: “Grand Prince” (2018)

It's a love triangle. But only because one grand prince does not want to accept the fact that the woman he wants has already chosen his younger brother. Her choice just adds to the list of all of the rest of the reasons that he is jealous and envious of his younger brother. It's a one-sided rivalry because the feelings are not mutual. The younger brother truly loves his big brother. It's not his fault that the royal adults chose to send his brother away from the palace and allowed him to stay in the palace. Whenever his older brother comes to the palace he is always happy to see him.

• Yoon Shi Yoon plays the younger brother, Lee Hwi, Prince Eun Sung. He doesn't really want to be king, even though he has the character to become a great king. He is sent to serve in the military to prove that he is worthy to rule.

• Jin Se Yeon plays Sung Ja-hyun, a noble lady, who falls in love with Grand Prince Lee Hwi. They pledged their hearts to each other.  When the grand prince is called to serve in the military, she vows to wait until he returns. If he does not return she will remain unmarried and live her life in a Buddhist temple. One thing she has determined in her mind is that she will NOT become his older brother's woman.

• Joo Sang Wook plays the older brother, Lee Kang, Prince Jin Yang, who covets everything that his younger brother has, including his woman. Unlike his younger brother, he has a strong desire to be king. He secretly arranges for his brother to be killed in battle and intends to take his brother's woman.

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K-Drama Review: Bad and Crazy (2021)

Bad and Crazy is a K-drama series released in 2021 that incorporates the topic of multiple personality disorders in its storyline.  But it is not based on a true story and should definitely not be construed as mental health advice.  

That being said, if you like detective shows you should add this show to your watch list.  It's very entertaining.

Image credit: Netflix

Lee Dong-Wook plays Ryu Sool-Yeol. He’s “The Bad”.

Although he’s not really a bad guy. He just wants career advancement in the law enforcement agency he works for and figures the best way to get a promotion is to overlook or cover up crimes that have been committed. All he has to do is neatly wrap things up, close the cases, and file them away. This way he gets promoted collects a steady paycheck, and does not upset the “higher ups” in the police department or in the government who could make his life miserable or even kill him to get him out of their way! He’s not bad. He’s just realistic. I mean … he’s no HERO! Or is he??

Wi Ha Joon plays “K”. He’s “The Crazy”.

When viewers are first introduced to this character, they might think that he’s possibly a ghost who decided to occupy Ryu Sool-Yeol’s body in order to make him do the right thing. But as time goes on, “K” is revealed as Ryu Sool-Yeol’s alter ego; a justice-seeking HERO! Whereas Ryu Sool-Yeol would get down on his knees and grovel at the feet of a corrupt politician he knows committed murder and agree not to expose his wrongdoing, “K” would publicly kick that politician in the face. slap him around, and call him a murderer, out loud in front of several witnesses who just can’t believe what they’re seeing. I mean … is he CRAZY??!!! “K” may act crazy, but “K,” says … he’s a HERO!!

So? Does Ryu Sool-Yeol have a split personality? Yes! Yes, he does.

But what happened to him to cause this mental health condition?

Not saying. No spoilers.

Original source

*****

Awesome Korean Drama Based on True Love Story: Dong Yi (2010)

HA! That stands for hooked again!! My new addiction is watching Korean historical drama TV series. There are way too many of them for me to keep up. They are so exciting and interesting, even though the basic plot in most of the series is pretty much the same.

What's the basic plot, you ask?

Eh! Some palace intrigue on the inside, rivalry among the nobles and scholars on the outside, honorable slaves, and commoners who prove time again that being poor and uneducated does not equal stupid! ... and of course, the love triangle.  No Korean drama is complete without the love triangle. △

For each series, the script writers take this plot, create different and intricate twists and turns, and develop characters that make the viewers immediately choose sides and start rooting for them! I like this lady or this man! But that person has got to go! When the ruthless evil characters finally go down, you're pumping your fist in the air and going Yeah! A flood of relief washes over you and then you have to remind yourself that it's just a TV show. :)

 

Image credit: Official poster found at viki.com

While seeking and finding more and more historical series to satisfy my K-drama addiction, found “Dong Yi” (2010). This television program is directed by Lee Byung Hoon, who also directed "Jewel in the Palace" (2003).

Reviews indicate that Hoon's 2003 series was extremely successful, so it went on my watch list. But because the 2010 series includes in its cast an admirable child actress, Kim Yoo Jung, who also starred in “Tamra the Island” (2009) and “The Moon Embracing the Sun” (2012) ~ her cute little face drew me in. The series is based on the life of a real historical person: Royal Noble Consort Suk of the Haeju Choi clan.

{Side Note – According to recent reports in South Korean entertainment news publications, Ms. Jung's latest project, “Moonlight Drawn By Clouds” aired its first episode during the 4th week of this month, August 2016. It is being well received.  Series at viki.com.}

Back on point. The child character played by little Ms. Jung, is a “commoner”, i.e. not born into a noble family, who grows up into a beautiful and intelligent, caring and compassionate young woman, played by Han Hyo Joo. The character's name is … what else? Dong Yi!

She went from the child who had everything taken away from her to the woman who had the world laid at her feet. According to all the fortune tellers, “her light” was going to shine brightly in the land of Joseon.

Nothing annoys me more than reviews with spoilers, so extra precaution is taken to constrain myself and not to reveal too much. Here are my impressions so far.

Good start! Series starts off with a very peaceful idyllic scene of a man fishing and enjoying a quiet leisure moment. The silence is immediately shattered when the man is brutally murdered. But before he breathes his last breath, guess who finds him? A young child named Dong Yi!

Good fortune? I'll say! This lady was born under the Lisa Bonet lucky star. She got two hot guys wrapped around her finger! If you know who Lisa Bonet is and you watch this show, then you'll understand my meaning. :)

60 episodes and I've only reached the halfway mark. What's the hook the writers used to keep you interested all the way to the very end? A butterfly! Don't know about everybody else, but I love butterflies!

Dong Yi ~ Official Trailer

* * Related or Similar Articles:

Did Dong Yi and King Sukjong really have a long romance?

The Best Korean Historical Drama

Do You Heart Butterflies? | Webnuggetz.com

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Watch Asian Dramas ~ Free Online Streaming

Review: Action Spy TV Series : Undercovers (2010) ... (Reblog)

“Undercovers” was an American action spy TV series that aired briefly on NBC in 2010.

First episode: September 22, 2010, AND Last episode: December 29, 2010

It had beautiful people and totally sucked!

Review: Action Spy TV Series : Undercovers (2010) ~ Do Not Rinse and Repeat! (Reblog)