Queen In Hyun's Man

Queen In Hyun’s Man

8.5/10

Queen In Hyun's Man

Genre:                                Episodes: 16                          Year: 2012

Romance

Comedy

Fantasy

Synopsis:

Kim Boong Do is a nobleman in the Joseon era. He works to keep Queen In Hyun safe, which frequently puts his life in danger. A friend worries for Boong Do’s safety and gives him a talisman to protect him. When his life is in danger, Boong Do gets transported to modern day Korea where he meets Choi Hee Jin, an actress portraying Queen In Hyun in a new drama.

Cast:

Ji Hyun Woo (Kim Boong Do)

Yoo In Na (Choi Hee Jin)

Kim Jin Woo (Han Dong Min)

Ga Deuk Hee (Jo Soo Kyung)

Eom Hyo Seop (Min Am)

Lee Kwan Hoon (Ja Soo)

Jin Ye Sol (Yoon Wol)

General Thoughts:

This is an excellent drama that was pretty near perfect. The story was engaging from start to finish, and both of the leads were loveable and interesting. The driving force behind the drama was really how fantastic the two main characters were. Both of them were likeable on their own, so together they were just magic.

How I love when the girl is the instigator for skinship

The story was strong and gave the wonderful characters something solid to stand on and work around. Blending history with the modern day always tends to be interesting, but the plot never let itself coast on the fish-out-of-water humour that comes with a Joseon man being thrust into modern times. Sure, the jokes were there, but the story never overplayed them and remained quite like our hero- mostly serious but able to provide some clever comedy when required.

Ohh the feeeeelings

The writing was magnificent, and its strength was in the way it could have several emotions in a single scene. Most mediocre dramas tend to only have one emotion running at a time- funny, serious, angsty, sweet etc. The mark of a well written drama is when one moment can make you feel a mixture of emotions, and ‘Queen In Hyun’s Man’ had that in droves. There were moments that were serious but had a slice of comedy which prevented the drama from ever becoming too heavy, and of course with all the separation there was bound to be angst, but this angst was more often than not accompanied by a sweetness owing to the loveable natures of the leads. It’s a series that's easily and quickly able to capture hearts and makes you care for it’s characters, and that’s basically half the job done- when you truly care for the characters in a story, you’re going to keep watching and a happy ending is probably enough to satisfy. But ‘Queen In Hyun’s Man’ had more than likeable characters, and ended up being a lovely, well-rounded series. While both the main leads take on character traits that we’ve seen in other dramas, both have a touch of uniqueness and feel like real, genuine people.

I love him, I love her, I love them together, I love this drama

They aren’t pigeonholed into one character type, but still react in consistent ways. Boong Do is calm and logical, but he’s not cold and indifferent the way most calm and logical K-Drama men are. Hee Jin is sweet and hardworking, but she has a hint of cheekiness that prevents her from becoming just another Candy heroine. While there isn’t a bunch of development for the other side characters, having two detailed, complex leads was enough to keep the story going, and really, you only notice the lack of other characters in hindsight anyway.

I don't think I've ever enjoyed angst this much

There’s nothing overly complex in the plot, but it almost makes for a nice change in a world were shows are constantly trying to be better and smarter than each other- it showed that the team behind the series had confidence in their story and that it would be enough to win the hearts of its viewers- which it did. While I admit to not always being aware of what was going on the Joseon period (my fault, not the drama’s), it was still interesting, and easy to know who to root for- if he’s swinging a sword at Boong Do he’s a bad guy. The tension was always well balanced- though no one was swinging a sword at anyone in the modern timeline, it still felt exciting. The music did an excellent job at blending the two timelines together, as did having our heroine acting in a historical drama. It was a clever way to link the two times together and keep the story feeling whole, rather than having two disjointed sections that sometimes clashed. 

What Was Great:

OTP:

Probably one of my favourite pairings of all time. A lot of K-Dramas like to go the hate-to-love route, which can be cute and funny, but I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I’ve seen a drama couple just genuinely like each other and decide to pursue a relationship together. If we’re all being real, that’s how most relationships tend to start.

How nice to have two characters just be purely into each other

While bickering can be fun, this drama showed a different way of courting, and while innocent flirting may not be as comedic as love-fights, it is insanely adorable and ran no risk of making the characters seem unlikeable in any way. The chemistry between Yoo In Na and Ji Hyun Woo was amazing, and I had a hunch a couple of episodes in that they might have dated after filming (which they did)- the romance was so utterly believable.

You can legit see the hearts falling out his eyes

There’s something nice about watching two people fall in love with each other (hello, it’s why we watch so much romance media), and having the actors falling for each other made the drama seem that much more genuine, and the couple moments that much sweeter. Something else that really added a lot to the drama is that Boong Do and Hee Jin actually wanted to be together. I mean, the hero about kills himself every time he hops over to the future for a date. I’m not a fan of forced separation, especially when it’s one of the main characters that willingly leaves, but there’s something intensely engaging in watching two people fight against all odds to be with each other- it makes it really feel like a romance worth rooting for. Another thing K-Dramas tend to love is the idea of fate- that everything is predestined and there’s a set love waiting at the end of your path. It’s not a bad idea, it’s actually quite a comforting thought to think that everyone is destined for someone else- no doubt why destiny plays such a large role in so many romance dramas. But there’s also something nice in having two characters decide that f*ck destiny, they’ve found someone they want to be with and they’ll make it work no matter what. It’s a sense of empowerment, and this series definitely leaned more towards our characters making their own futures, which is where a lot of the conflict sprung from.

I wish a handsome man would leap through time and get tangled up in my destiny

Us K-Drama viewers are so pre-conditioned to thinking that fate controls all, that fate becomes a force to be reckoned with even in a drama that doesn’t expressly say ‘fate is a big deal, don’t mess with it’. The show does drop some hints about some greater power and the complications of going against that power, but the writer was smart enough to know that the idea of fate is a widely accepted notion, and that a few hints were all that was needed. This idea was further supported by having Hee Jin in a happy relationship with Dong Min during the time she forgot about Boong Do.

Bummer- if a talisman hadn't spewed a Joseon man into your film set she might've ended up with you

It was as if the show was pointing out what fate had planned just so our characters could go against it and choose each other instead- which was just so wonderfully romantic. It seems like a weird thing to say about a romance, but we’ve all seen so many romantic stories that you kind of have to up the game to make hearts flutter now. Having our characters seemly go against this greater power not only added a great amount of tension, but further enforced the love story- if these two characters believe that their love is something worth risking everything for, we’re likely to believe it as well. 

Time Travel:

This is one of the older time-travel dramas I’ve seen, and yet is probably one of the best. When you introduce a magical element to a drama, it runs the risk of becoming something too big to control.

Oppa, you look cool in every era

However, by limiting the magic to a single talisman (well…mostly), it was easy to control fantasy element. The basic rules were set up early on so that we could understand how the time jumps were happening, but there was still room for the understanding of the magic to grow- which it did. There was always an element of uncertainty about the talisman- would it stop working, would Boong Do be trapped in one time or the other- and that was where most of our story’s conflict came from. While there was plenty of danger in the Joseon period, it was really the risk of Boong Do not being able to jump back to the future or constantly being ripped back to the past that was the real conflict. The drama also didn’t use the time travel only for the romance, but cleverly incorporated it into Boong Do’s Joseon struggles. Having him able to go to the future and use modern transport to move around was a clever way to solve Joseon complications, and also gave the time travel more substance than simply having a lover in the future. 

What Wasn’t:

Get Out of Jail (Literally) Free Card:

The drama's one great weakness. Most of the magic in this series is well understood and works within the bounds of the rules it set for itself. Which is great, because when you have magic but no rules it’s nothing but chaos and you never really feel a sense of urgency as you know that some specky magical solution will poof out of thin air and ensure everyone’s happiness. Because the talisman had been set up with limitations, it ensured that we felt a sense of insecurity about our lovers’ future- when will Boong Do disappear from the future for the last time?

What if he disappears for EVER?!

It added a huge amount of intensity to the drama as it made every choice Boong Do made to go back to the past much riskier. However, the trickier the conflict the trickier it is to resolve, and sad as I am to say it (because I loved this drama from start to finish), the drama did pull a magical solution out its ass in the final hour. While the talisman is adequately explained, the magic of memories is not.

Good thing your phones are magic or you would've been in some real trouble there

Although we did see memories play an important role in the series, it mainly came across as our characters actively choosing to seek an answer for one question they had or another, and thus their desperation to uncover the truth led to lost memories being restored. Sure, I can accept that as it places the power in the hands of our characters- they keep fighting against fate, so they keep ending up at the same place. Makes enough sense for me. But never once had memories been used to drag one character into the other’s timeline. But lo and behold, in the time of need magic memories zap Boong Do back to the future via phone call. I so desperately wanted a happy ending that I was satisfied enough to see our characters living together happily, but man I would have been much more pleased if our final resolution was one that made some sort of logical sense. I get the romanticism in the idea of desperation and love reaching through time and whatnot, but the rest of the series was so logical that I was a little bummed when the finale relied on pure magic that hadn’t been explored in the series previously.

Re-watch?

Perhaps. It’s an enjoyable show, but half the fun was not knowing how our leads were going to make it work. It will also remind me how sad I am that Yoo In Na and Ji Hyun Woo broke up.

One of my favourite K-Drama couples of all time

Ma Boy

Ma Boy

5/10

Ma Boy

Genre:                                      Episodes: 3                             Year: 2012

Romance

Comedy

School

Synopsis:

Jang Geu Rim dreams of becoming a famous singer and enters one of the best arts high schools. Tae Joon, a popular idol who Geu Rin has a crush on attends the same school, but Tae Joon is in love with Irene, a young model. Geu Rin becomes Irene’s roommate and discovers Irene has been hiding a secret- Irene is actually a boy.

Cast:

Kim So Hyun (Jang Gue Rin)

Sun Woong (Irene/Hyun Woo)

Min Hoo (Tae Joon)

Kim Hye Ji (Hye Ri)

General Thoughts:

When you consider it next to high budget, mainstream K-Dramas, ‘Ma Boy’ really isn’t all that good, but when you go in knowing what to expect it can be a right good time. Obviously I wasn't expecting a mind-blowing drama, and was happy to watch the cute, silly, fluffiness that this drama was- that is after all why I started it.

Is this our heroine? No...no that's our hero

It’s kind of like K-Drama’s version of Disney Chanel or Nickelodeon- juvenile in a fun way without being plain stupid. It’s got a little bit of story, and our main man Hyun Woo (more often referred to as Irene) even gets a nice little dose of character development. Our heroine is pretty stock standard, but it’s nice to see Kim So Hyun in her early days- she’s only 13!

Look at how tiny she is!

The acting is pretty green all round, but it fits well enough into the show. The reason it works so well is that everything is on the same level. It’s not an amazing story with terrible acting or a terrible story with amazing acting- it’s just pleasantly mediocre. The kids all act well enough for their age, and it kind of adds to the enjoyment watching them because you get a nice dose of secondhand embarrassment. The kids act everything out with such conviction- even the most ridiculous scenes, and you can really tell they’re just having a marvellous time. There were probably loads of outtakes and I bet the set was just a really enjoyable place to be. When the actors are obviously having that much fun filming, it really translates. There’s very little emotional investment, but that’s okay because nothing really happens. Some small-scale stuff goes on, but it’s not played up like it’s the end of the world (the way some dramas ramp up every tiny situation), so it’s fun to watch the two leads dance around the main concept- our hero pretends to be a girl most of the time. Which is hilarious in all kinds of ways. Only in Korea could you pull of something like this- because Sun Woong is actually alarmingly believable as a girl. He’s so very pretty. He actually reminded me a lot of Sulli when she was crossdressing as a boy in ‘To the Beautiful You’.

You have to admit...the resemblance is kinda uncanny

His height and his broad shoulders were a bit of a giveaway, but once the wig was on it was totally understandable that people thought he was a girl.

Weightless and cute and fun

I mean really, if I only saw his face with the wig on I’d probably think he was a girl to start with. I actually really liked that it was the boy crossdressing this time around, as it’s so often the girl disguised as a boy (probably slightly easier to pass off), and as far as I’m aware this is the only K-Drama that has the boy dressing as a girl set-up. The concept is fun and creates some funny moments, but it’s never blown out of proportion- neither of our leads’ lives are going to be ruined if the secret got out. It’s pretty low-key all around, but it’s still an enjoyable watch that will give you a good laugh. Obviously if you’re not someone that likes kid shows I wouldn’t recommend it to you, but if you’re one of us who secretly delight in short, childish TV every now and then, it’s a fun little show.

What Was Great:

Everyone is Nice:

There’s no large and scary Big Bad in this series. The kids can be a little mean sometimes, but their evil schemes are pretty harmless. It’s exactly like watching a children's cartoon or something where locking someone in a dark room for a couple of minutes is the hight of revenge. Which kind of only adds to the fun- because nothing’s really going to go wrong- and let’s be honest, it would just be completely ridiculous if it did.

Even the Mean Girls were pretty low-level mean

The fan clubs are played more for comedic effect rather than any sort of actual drama, with all the drama coming from Geu Rin and Irene/Hyun Woo. Even our second male lead is so helplessly nice- just trapped in his own little world where he’s the star of everything and everyone loves him, and he’s so sweetly troubled by how immensely popular he is and saddened that he’ll have to break someone’s heart- when in reality the two ‘girls’ he likes are really one girl and a crossdresser who are actually falling for each other. Tae Joon is just pure hilarity.

Wow, fantastic baby

What Wasn’t:

Do I care that nothing happened? Not at all.

Unsubstantial:

It’s hard to point fingers at things that aren’t good about this show, because honestly I expected a whole lot of it to not be very good. I could sit on my high horse and say the plot was terrible and the acting immature and blahdy blahdy blah- but for what it is it’s actually very good. I’m aware that I’m watching something that is geared towards pre-teens, and so I can enjoy it as such. Even as a juvenile show the plot was probably a little lacking, but the fact remains that it’s still enjoyable. The whole show carries a light-hearted, nothing-really-matters air that I know a lot of people probably wouldn't enjoy- but on a slow weekend with nothing to do I'm not above watching fluffy, non-sensical K-Drama. Really, bonus points for it actually being funny and entertaining.

Re-watch?

Maybe. The show really is a good laugh even if it’s just pure silliness. It’s only three episodes, so it’s high on the list of things to watch if I ever need a mood lift.

Sweet and fun- the best parts of a childish romance

Rooftop Prince

Rooftop Prince

6.5/10

Rooftop Prince

Genre:                           Episodes: 20                          Year: 2012

Historical

Romance

Comedy

Fantasy

Synopsis:

After the death and assumed murder of his wife, Crown Prince Lee Gak and his three companions are transported 300 years into the future while searching for the culprit. In the year 2012, the men arrive at a woman named Park Ha’s rooftop apartment. Crown Prince finds a woman that looks exactly like his deceased wife and realises they must only be able to return to Joseon once they have solved the Crown Princess’ murder.

Cast:

Park Yoo Chun (Lee Gak/Yong Tae Yong)

Han Ji Min (Park Ha/Boo Young)

Lee Tae Sung (Yong Tae Moo)

Jung Yoo Mi (Hone Se Na/Hwa Yong)

Lee Min Ho (Song Man Bo)

Choi Woo Shik (Do Chi San)

Jung Suk Won (Woo Yong Sool)

General Thoughts:

Generally a likeable drama, but some major flaws defiantly dragged it down. The series starts splendidly with a Joseon era whodunit murder mystery, followed by hilarious comedy that was a result of four Joseon men skipping 300 years into the future. 

Squad goals

The fish-out-of-water comedy was executed brilliantly and acted out perfectly by our four actors. Here, the over-exaggerated reactions and silly facial expressions fit in well. Because it’s a bunch of guys encountering futuristic ideas that they could never have dreamed of. However, when our heroine starts getting in on the over-the-top performance thing…it doesn’t work so well. 

That's pretty much how I felt about her too, Yoochun

Or at all. I just plain couldn’t stand Han Ji Min in this drama, and neither could those I watched the drama with. Han Ji Min did little to compensate for her less than exciting character (who was generally either being irritatingly stroppy or  bursting into tears), and left me caring very little for either our heroine or the main love pairing. Though I will admit that she is a pretty great crier. Going in knowing that it’s a time-skippy drama, you know it’s unlikely that these exact people will end up together anyway (there’s definitely going to be a reincarnation cop-out at the end), so you’re kind of primed to not get super invested in the main love-line- even if it is kind of the whole point of the drama. Granted, part of this disengagement is my own fault for so readily preparing myself for the end disappointment (that may or may not come), but our leading actress did nothing in the way of earning my attention or getting me to cheer for her romance. I was pretty unfazed whatever way it turned out.

I suppose I could care less

 It probably didn’t help that we had such a strong actress as our second female lead. Jung Yoo Mi slayed it as our evil step (or is it) sister. She gave enough to her role that it was easy to dislike her character, but was able to express enough hesitation and guilt that her character’s half-redemption arc at the end didn’t come as a completely unbelievable surprise. 

There's someone for everyone

Similarly, Lee Tae Sung gave an excellent performance as our primary villain. He showed the slow descent from accident-prone almost-murderer into calmly thought-through would-be-murderer (Tae Moo wasn’t that great at actually knocking anyone off) perfectly. Both Jung Yoo Mi and Lee Tae Sung gave strong villain performances and were able to make their characters understandable and comprehensible. And then there’s our main male lead Yoochun. Yoochun is built for comedy, so it’s no surprise that he did well in scenes that required a dash of ridiculousness. He also did a great job in the more emotional scenes in the Joseon era. While the character of the Crown Prince was quite prickly and a bit of an ass, Yoochun was able to present Lee Gak in a way that his softer, more loving side was always evident. The three boys backing up Yoochun all did excellent jobs in the comedic scenes- which is just as well as they didn’t really get any other kind of scene. 

All kinds of hilarity

The plot was a little bit of a disaster, but managed to pick itself up for a fantastic, zooming race to the finish line. All aspects of the Joseon story were deeply engaging- so it was a shame that we barely spent two episodes in this setting. The jump to the future was very amusing, but after several episodes that capitalised on that comedy, the plot started to lose steam. Because chaebol. And company. And inheritance. And who gives a damn. Although our villains were entertaining to watch for the most part, the company plot-line was kinda really boring. We’ve seen it all before, and the addition of a Joseon Prince impersonating a chaebol son wasn’t quite spicy enough to heat up the bland situation. 

Another inheritance fight? Bo-ring.

Birth secrets were abundant (if not fairly predictable), and there were lots of scenes focusing heavily on company-related matters. Yawn. Once we entered the drama’s end-game the story reinvigorated and gave us a wonderfully satisfying story about how our main baddies basically bring about their own downfall. During the dramatic demise of our villainous pair, I think our main characters were prancing about trying to decide whether to love each other or not. And our three back-up boys were nowhere to be found. 

Please put these glorious muppets back in the drama

The soundtrack was a sweet mix of Joseon instrumental and modern music and fit the vibe of the drama perfectly. While most scenes flowed smoothly there were defiantly a few choppy scene transitions that hinted at a rushed production.

What Was Great:

Murder Mystery:

The idea that initially grabs attention is the question of who murdered the Crown Princess. It’s a great mystery that could have several possible answers. It gives our hero a great reason to skip to the future (even if he doesn’t grasp that reason right away).

Dun dun duuuuunnn

Lee Gak needs to find out who murdered his Princess, and in order to do that he needs to find out that his Princess is actually a giant toss-bucket. And he would never have found that out without his little time-travelling adventure. Hints are slowly doled out throughout the series, and the ending in Joseon comes as a very satisfying conclusion. While many viewers (myself included) picked up early on that it was Sister-in-Law and not Princess that died, the who and the why were still great big question marks throughout the whole drama. The final revelation was a great answer to our biggest question, and added to the concept of Lee Gak and Park Ha’s thwarted fate and their destiny together that had gotten terribly twisted. 

Prince’s Love Swap:

Drama’s always go in with a risk when they start the series with one main lead being madly in love with someone who isn’t their end-game romance. And in this case, Lee Gak really loved his wife. A lot. So much so that he’s willing to brave the frightening world of 2012 Korea to find out who is responsible for her death. The audience is made privy to Se Na’s true nature pretty early on, but it comes as a slow reveal to our beloved Prince. Thankfully, the writers don’t waste much time on Lee Gak’s discovery and he catches on pretty quick once she starts to slip up.

One of the few cutesy, romantic scenes we were given

Late night discussions and drinks with Park Ha had already been going on at this point, and our Prince had already developed a close friendship with our heroine by the time he finds out what a lying nutbag his Princess really is. So at this point, it’s no stretch of the imagination that Lee Gak would end up falling for Park Ha. Both the writers and Yoochun handled the transition beautifully, and it never felt ridiculous that the Prince made the switch from Se Na to Park Ha so quickly.

Interesting Villains:

Se Na and Tae Moo were probably the most interesting and developed of all the characters. Being villains they are given a much wider range of emotions than our hero and heroine (who obviously cannot go past feelings of love, happiness, sadness, and maybe mild jealousy).

Kinda an evil b*tch- but also kinda addictive to watch

It’s fascinating to watch these two people sink further into the lies they’ve created and struggle to maintain their positions. What is most interesting about our villains is that they aren’t inherently bad people. Se Na has always showed signs of reluctance and confusion, but always made the wrong choice when it came down to it. As for Tae Moo, it was more about how one accident lead to the next, and his misguided view on how to fix his situation that lead him down the road of villainy. He’s much darker than Se Na, in that by the end he was ready to flat-out murder his cousin, but always held on to a shred of humanity through his deep and unending love of Se Na. The story was defiantly about how these two individuals got far too greedy and eventually orchestrated their own downfall- which was super satisfying to watch. The only downside of having such engaging villains, is that our main leads seemed a bit bleak and boring in comparison. And as the story revolved a lot around what Se Na and Tae Moo were doing, it dramatically reduced screen time for Lee Gak and Park Ha. Which isn’t great.

What Wasn’t:

Lack of Leads’ Chemistry:

I just wasn’t feeling it between Lee Gak and Park Ha. The plot lay all the groundwork for the love-line, but when it came to actual execution it fell short. Logically the two together makes sense- but it just wasn’t what I was seeing on my screen.

Adequate depiction of how much fire were was between our leads

Han Ji Min presented Park Ha as a rather bolshy, abrasive girl, so scenes of Park Ha trying to be cute felt kind of awkward. All in all, there just wasn’t that addictive spark between the main leads that you get in a really good romance.

Sort of the End:

The actual end to the drama was pretty perfect when you consider how many ways this drama could have gone wrong. And there were so many ways it could have gone wrong. But the drama happily managed to avoid most of them.

Was not a fan of this, but oh well

While personally I found the wedding was a little awkward and somewhat uncomfortable, I know a lot of viewers actually enjoyed the emotional punch it was giving to the main love-line. As it wasn’t a huge point in the plot, and we did need some way to say farewell to Lee Gak before he goes back to Joseon, the wedding can be given a pass. It’s literally the last 3-5 seconds that put a damper on the ending for me.

Totally called it, but still totally worth it

Our Prince has gone back to Joseon and solved the murder mystery (which was awesome), Park Ha is slowly getting on with her life in the absence of Lee Gak, and then she coincidentally meets the real Tae Yong who acts exactly as he did when they met in episode 1. Which is awesome and adorable. Then the two meet up like they weren’t able to in the past. Which is also awesome and adorable. And lastly, they do a fade to Park Ha standing there with Tae Yong in Joseon dress. Yeah, what? Has our Prince somehow time skipped back? Unlikely. Does Tae Yong somehow remember his past life? Doubtful. It’s just the writers making a connection to the whole same-soul bullsh*t. While lots of people enjoyed the connection, to me it just felt like Park Ha was looking for a ghost of Lee Gak in Tae Yong. Because while they may technically be the same soul or whatever- they’re also completely different people. So yeah, by all means make the connection to Lee Gak- but just know that you’ve now killed my imaginings of Park Ha and the real Tae Yong ever being in an honest, loving relationship.

3 seconds too long

It’s always hard when the couple you’ve spent all series watching be together aren’t the couple in the end- you’re hardly ever going to satisfy all your viewers in this situation.

Re-watch?

Most likely not. Cute couple moments were few and far between, and I also now know whodunnit.

At least the boys were always all kinds of fabulous