Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo

Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo

9/10

Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo

Genre:                                Episodes: 16                              Year: 2016

Romance

Comedy

Synopsis:

Kim Bok Joo is a promising young female weightlifter at an athletic collage. As well as being a star athlete on the track to becoming an olympic medalist, Bok Joo is also a young woman who struggles to balance her olympic dreams and current desires to live as a regular 20 year old. Jung Joon Hyung is Bok Joo’s friend from elementary school, and a swimmer at the same school. Like Bok Joo, Joon Hyung struggles to separate his athletic career and his personal life.

Cast:

Lee Sung Kyung (Kim Bok Joo)

Nam Joo Hyuk (Jung Joon Hyung)

Kyung Soo Jin (Song Shi Ho)

Lee Jae Yoon (Jung Jae Yi)

Cho Hye Jung (Jung Nan Hee)

Lee Joo Young (Lee Sung Ok)

Ji Il Joo (Jo Tae Kwon)

Kang Ki Young (Kim Dae Ho)

Yoo Da In (Go Ah Young)

General Thoughts:

Well this little drama was unexpectedly delightful and came out of nowhere to smash its way into my all-time-favourites list. I expected it to be cute and fluffy, but what it was is cute, substantial and wonderful. It’s very quietly extraordinary.

I love this. I love this so much.

It’s a fantastic story about a bunch of kids hitting that age where they’re suddenly adults, and everything matters, yet nothing does, and it’s still the stage of life that makes you into who you’re going to be. It’s nostalgic and fun without ever becoming juvenile. Despite not getting phenomenal ratings, it’s defiantly one of the better dramas to come out of 2016.

She's a weightlifter, but she's not just a weightlifter

I didn’t expect it to be nearly as good as it was, because really…weightlifting? Is that going to be fun? Answer- yes. Yes it is. Because the drama very smartly doesn’t choose to hone in on the athletics. Sure it’s about weightlifting, but more than that it’s about Bok Joo. Bok Joo happens to be a weightlifter, so the drama has weightlifting in it. By only focusing on the athletics every now and then (it was always present, but not in your face), the drama remained very relatable, and Bok Joo became a heroine that everyone could see themselves in. I’m not a weightlifter, and I’ve sure as hell never had the adoration of someone like Nam Joo Hyuk thrust upon me (though I totally won’t count that out just yet), but I understood all Bok Joo’s choices, and could totally see myself being buddies with her. Likeable male leads are about a dime a dozen- it’s the likeable female leads that come as a bit of a surprise. But Bok Joo wasn’t just likeable, she was so darn loveable. She felt every emotion so strongly whether it was embarrassment, heart-break or happiness, and it’s pretty much impossible to dislike someone who’s that honest and innocent.

Bok Joo gets me

Her struggles were so universal despite her very unique circumstances. Everyone has worried about not being attractive enough to get the notice of the person you fancy, we all worry about our family, and can anyone forget the mortifyingly embarrassing mess we were when our first crush didn’t work out?

Where do I get one?

Bok Joo’s so relatable because we can all see parts of ourselves in her- like ‘oh yeah I remember when something like that happened and she’s right, it totally blows’. The part that most of us probably didn’t have was Joon Hyung- man of total devotion and adoration But that’s what makes the series fun. He’s not so ridiculously perfect that it’s unbelievable that a romance like theirs could occur. It’s exactly the type of romance that ruins all us regular people because it’s dreamy and almost perfect and could totally happen one day, right? The friends to lovers dynamic was hit so perfectly, and meant we got to see every stage of Bok Joo and Joon Hyung’s relationship- general dislike, begrudging friendship, friendship that’s way past friendship but they don’t know it yet, total lovebirds. It’s so darn cute. It’s always a bonus when the guy falls for the girl first, because there are so many dramas where the girl pines for Mr. Unattainable or they fall in love at the same time. Watching Joon Hyung realise that he was in love with Bok Joo was really the best thing ever. Because suddenly all their interactions, phone calls and skinship mean something different. It’s adorable, and I really couldn’t get enough of it.

He fell for her so hard, so fast

The supporting cast and characters were all brilliant too. Each of the characters had a turn in the spotlight as part of some sort of conflict, then gradually went back into the background so the next conflict could arise.

I love the humour, I love the tone, I love that Nam Joo Hyuk gets to be in a swimsuit

The way it was handled was very smooth, and evidence of the director and writer working in total harmony- none of the characters disappeared entirely, and came back every now and then- very clearly still the stars of their own lives. The little bits we saw of the side characters did an excellent job at establishing them as actual people, and we often saw how their lives continued even once Bok Joo was no longer super actively involved. Jae Yi also realised he’d been in a relationship masquerading as a friendship, Shi Ho quit competitive gymnastics and turned to coaching, and another weightlifter-swimmer couple was born. Another thing that was truly excellent about the series and fit its vibe perfectly was the soft pastel tones that the show seemed to take on. It’s almost as if they chose the colour scheme just to fit Lee Sung Kyung, because it complimented her beautifully. The whole drama just seemed to have a bit of a pastel wash over it, that made it seem a bit softer, a bit prettier, and a bit more romantic than life actually is. Its a stunning drama to look at- it’s surprising how many dramas forget that the scenes have to be just as appealing as the actors, but ‘Weightlifting Fairy’ totally nailed it.

Everything is so adorably pretty

What Was Great:

Casting:

The casting is spot on, which is probably one of the more surprising aspects of the drama. I mean, don’t get me wrong, Lee Sung Kyung is a brilliant actress, but I kind of wondered if the casting directors had actually ever laid eyes on her.

Lee Sung Kyung officially brought her A-game

Because that girl probably can’t lift 10 kilos- she’s tiny. But I was super impressed to see how much effort Lee Sung Kyung put into looking the part. Sure, she’s still probably not close at all to actual weightlifter proportions, but she no longer looks like a gentle breeze could blow her away. I actually hope she stays this weight, because I’ve always found her to look a bit on the unhealthy side of skinny, and really liked the way she looked with a bit more muscle and weight on her. The stylists also did a fabulous job of downplaying Lee Sung Kyung’s supermodel good looks under a dorky haircut and clothes that were loose but not too baggy. It made her seem much more like a normal person and less like the ridiculous beauty she is. Bok Joo was still very pretty, but pretty in a way that was easy to overlook- which was the point. I myself caught myself thinking that Bok Joo was too pretty to be a weightlifter before realising that there’s no rule that weightlifters can’t be pretty, and that was one of the issues that Bok Joo was constantly fighting against- because she was a weightlifter people assumed she couldn’t be pretty and she couldn’t be feminine. It was really a perfect way to tie in the actress’ looks into one of the points the drama was trying to make. Another brilliant way they used casting to really sell the series was to use Lee Sung Kyung’s height to her advantage.

Look at them other shorties

She stands at around 175cm (I think), which is pretty tall for a Korean girl, and the drama used that to its advantage to sell her as a weightlifter. Once she was no longer stick thin, it became more plausible that she was a weightlifter as her height made her seem bigger (and thus stronger) than others. The show emphasised this further by casting short around her. Both of Bok Joo’s close friends and her rival-roommate were significantly shorter than Bok Joo, and made her seem bulkier in comparison.

I am so emotionally invested in our Bok Joo

And not only did Lee Sung Kyung look the part, but she totally smashed the role. I was completely sold on her as Bok Joo and she did an astounding job in her first leading role. She’s previously taken on rather dislikable roles, so I was worried if I’d be able to warm to her as our heroine. My doubts were completely put to rest by her enjoyable take on Bok Joo. She was able to turn the crazy energy she’s put into making interesting, unique second leads into a much more likeable, but equally interesting and unique energy for Bok Joo. Bok Joo was really unlike any other heroine. She was fun, straightforward and energetic, and it was obvious that so much of that came from the way Lee Sung Kyung acted her. Despite my initial misgivings, I’m so, so, so glad that Lee Sung Kyung is the one who landed this role, as I highly doubt I would have loved Bok Joo as much as I did if it was someone else playing her. Next to Bok Joo we have our male lead, Joon Hyung, played by Nam Joo Hyuk. And hasn’t he just improved dramatically! He’s been on my list of people to look out for, but it was this drama that cemented that he’s probably going to end up being one of the house-hold names in Korean acting in a few years. He’s been catching eyes in smaller roles, but smashed the ball out of the park on this one. He was also someone I was tentative about seeing as one of the leads, because while I’ve come to like him as an actor, the last time he was a male lead was a bit of a mess- and he was a swimmer then too. But I was happy to see that he entered the role with confidence and conviction and delivered an insanely loveable lead.

Not to mention that the chemistry was all kinds of delightful

There are cases of actors seeming to be tailor-made for roles, and while I do think that this was an easy role for Nam Joo Hyuk to take on, I think it’s just as much him growing as an actor as it is finding a role that suited him. His natural playfulness really showed in Joon Hyung, and he brought the aegyo in the best ways- there’s just something so fun about the man being more inclined to cutesy voice and shoulder shrugging than the girl.

Nam Joo Hyuk also brought his A-game

The reason that it was obvious that Nam Joo Hyuk’s acting was improving was that it wasn’t just the fun, cute or loving scenes that he excelled in. Scenes that required him to show vulnerability he acted out perfectly, and even managed to show that some of Joon Hyung’s jokey nature was actually him covering up his insecurities. Nam Joo Hyuk perfectly expressed Joon Hyung’s emotions, and handled the transition from friends to lovers excellently. The way he linked arms with Bok Joo when they were friends was totally different than the way he linked arms with her after he realised his feelings. The supporting cast were all brilliant as well, particularly Kyung Soo Jin who made Song Shi Ho an understandable second female lead. Sure, we didn’t always like her, but it was easy to see what led her to make the decisions she did, and Kyung Soo Jin acted her downward spiral and eventual acceptance wonderfully. Ji Il Joo was super adorable as Joon Hyung’s roommate, and I hope his spike of activity in 2016 means we’ll be seeing more of him in the future. 

Progress:

The way the drama flowed was just picture perfect. No conflict was dragged out too long that we got bored or irritated by how easily the problem could have been solved, and our characters all...wait for it…they actually communicated with each other!

Just look at them adulting betting than all the adults in other K-Dramas

By the time the series ended I could hardly remember a time when Bok Joo was crying her eyes out over Jae Yi. And wether directly or indirectly, the drama’s progression was another way it highlighted how time really is the cure for most heartaches.

Time heals all

Just as we take some prompting to remember how tortured Bok Joo was over Jae Yi, that time is such a distant memory for Bok Joo- no matter how crushing and soul-destroying it seemed back then. The way the drama flowed was so natural, and made it feel as though we were growing with our characters. Both Bok Joo and Joon Hyung are slightly different people at the start of the series than they are at the end, and the series is really all about how they came to be those confident young people as much as it’s about them falling in love with each other. Of course their love is part of why they became the people they were, but it wasn’t the only reason. While the drama didn’t really have one huge overarching conflict, it was made up of many smaller conflicts. Sometimes the conflicts overlapped, like Bok Joo’s love for Jae Yi happening at the same time Shi Ho was gunning to win him back, but every conflict had its moment to be The Conflict in the drama. And while all the conflicts did tend to get wrapped up pretty neatly, it never came off as unrealistic. It was more that our characters had to face the issue, come to terms with the results and move on, rather than the situation getting tied up in a perfect little bow. A lot of the resolutions came from our characters simply learning how to deal with what was happening to them. More than being a drama about things that happen, ‘Weightlifting Fairy’ is a drama about characters, their emotional growth, and their relationships. And when done well (as it was here) those types of dramas can be the most endearing, because the characters really find a way to snag your heart and become unforgettable.

Romance AND friendship- it's got it all

All the Cute:

It’s adorable. As much as it’s a drama about growth and characters and all that, the fact of the matter is that none of that would be all that interesting if it wasn’t wrapped up in a package of cute. It was never ridiculous, cringeworthy cute, but a nice, sweet atmosphere where two loveable people found each other and were adorable together. It’s not a drama where there are nasty villains, or hideous murders- but that’s okay.

Oh my God it's cute- someone please show me the magic portal through which I can enter into this world

Cute dramas are needed to give you a rest from all the life-or-death ones, and when they’re structured as well as this one, it’s just plain fabulous. Bok Joo and Joon Hyung are so cute all the time. And just because the drama is cute, it doesn’t mean it’s simple. The characters were well fleshed out, and I cared for their happiness just as much as I care in any high-stakes drama- maybe even more so.

What Wasn’t:

Forgiving Mum:

Joon Hyung’s big conflict in the series was having a Mum that abandoned him. Sure, he had a loving Aunt and Uncle who became his adoptive family, but it doesn’t stop it hurting when your Mum buggers off to Canada to start a new family. It was an issue that was set up pretty early on, so we new there was going to be a big blowup at some point.

If you make our hero sad, you're going to have to pay (except she didn't)

It even raised its head a few times before emerging completely, like when Joon Hyung fought with Jae Yi because he felt like he was treated too nicely to be a real younger brother. Then Mum came and Joon Hyung found out it was for money and not him, and you b*tch how dare you make our baby cry.

Screw you, lady

While the build-up and peak of the conflict were brilliant, I did find the resolution a little lacking. While I agree with Bok Joo that Joon Hyung’s Mum could love both him and her new child, I’m more on Joon Hyung’s side because there was really no explanation as to why she cut of contact and ignored Joon Hyung for 10 years. There’s no way that can be twisted into something that was for Joon Hyung’s benefit. I was kind of disappointed at how easily Joon Hyung forgave his mother after years of her abandonment. I would have preferred (and this is probably just my vindictive nature) that Joon Hyung got to a point where he was no longer angry at his mother, but politely told her that she’d forfeited any rights of being his mother when she took off. She had a new family, he had a new family, so thank you very much but he’d prefer not to meet her again and they could just get on with their lives. But no, he sees her off at the airport and says he wants to meet his younger sister and that he’ll see mum again. Mmm, kinda lame, but I guess it is fitting with the happy, rosy vibe of the series.

Re-watch?

Yes. Right now. You heard me, I’m going to watch it all again right this very moment.

I want to live in this drama

Top 5 K-Dramas to Start With

Top 5 

K-Dramas to Start With

K-Dramas sure do have a lot of variety, and can be a messy area to navigate for new viewers. There’s so many to choose from- and popularity doesn’t always necessarily equal quality. Some K-Dramas also require a basic knowledge of Korean culture to understand the relationships and the plots- so some shows that can be absolutely fantastic can become confusing and unenjoyable if you watch them right off the bat. But on the other hand, there are also dramas that are pretty universal and easy to enjoy and understand regardless of your knowledge on Korean culture and customs- and are a great way to slowly introduce you to the world of K-Drama, and expand your understanding so you can appreciate a larger verity of the shows that K-Drama has to offer. Surely one of the saddest things is people being turned off something because they didn’t get introduced correctly. I mean, while historical dramas can be interesting and all, I definitely wouldn’t recommend any until you have some lighter, easier to follow K-Dramas under your belt first. So, from 5 to 1, here are my picks on the best dramas to get you (or your friends and family) hopelessly hooked. 

5: Reply 1997

The ‘Reply’ franchise has made a name for itself for creating beautiful, brilliant dramas that every man and his dog can relate to. ‘Reply 1997’ has shorter episodes than most K-Dramas, and is my personal favourite of the ‘Reply’ series. While there are a lot of cameos and hidden jokes that you’ll miss if you’re not Korean or an avid viewer of Korean dramas, there’s so much humour and heart in the show that is universally relatable. Pretty much any person who has been a teenager can understand our characters, as the story mostly takes place in their teenage years- a time of soaring highs and unbelievable angst no matter what country you live in. The tale is really about growing up and relationships with friends and family, and is told with a tone of wistful nostalgia. The humour is hilarious, the relationships endearing, and the characters are just so, so loveable.

4: You’re Beautiful

Cross-dressing is a pretty popular premise in K-Dramas, so much so that two of them have made it on this list. ‘You’re Beautiful’ is a drama that you’ll frequently find on favourite lists. It’s cute and fun, and while it’s probably the most juvenile of the shows on this list, sometimes you just want to watch something that’s deeply entertaining without requiring too much brain power. It’s an enjoyable little look in at Korea’s music industry, and despite it’s lack of deadly serious, life-or-death plot it remains entertaining through the continually developing characters and relationships. It’s a fun little piece that will introduce you to a lot of ideas that are common among many K-Dramas- Candy heroines, almost too nice to exist second male leads, boybands. 

3: City Hunter

A lot of K-Dramas tend to focus quite a lot on the romance, and can be viewed as a bit ‘girly’. While I argue that anyone can enjoy a good romance regardless of gender, ‘City Hunter’ is probably the best drama to snag the interests of boys. Westerners in particular are used to pretty high budget TV shows and Hollywood movies, and ‘City Hunter’ has a bit of a ‘Batman’ vibe about it, with its vigilante hero and despicable villains. It’s action packed with a slight mystery element to it, and even has a slight dose of romance on the side. The drama also does a great job at introducing a concept that rears its head in many K-Dramas- corrupt politicians. The drama goes into the corruption that exists there, but focuses on the journey of our titular hero. There’s never a dull moment, and the drama is just plain awesome.

2: Coffee Prince

There is a very good reason the this drama has remained on the top of peoples’ favourite lists for so long. Despite being a 2007 release, the drama doesn’t feel dated at all. It’s deeply hilarious, but also hits a few good emotional notes along the way. I would have to say that this is one of the rom-com K-Dramas that is more boy-friendly, as our heroine is a giant tom-boy and is actually confused as a boy for most of the series. It’s hard to really put your finger on the magic of ‘Coffee Prince’, but it’s got something in it that everyone can enjoy. Again, it’s a drama that doesn’t focus too heavily on Korean culture, but it does give you a taste. It’s a good drama to start wrapping your head around some of the age-related names that Koreans call each other that don’t exist in some cultures, like ‘hyung’ or ‘dongsaeng’. It also features one of the kings of Korean acting- Gong Yoo.

1: My Love from the Stars

This is the drama that hooked me into K-Drama- and I’m sure a whole bunch of other people were snagged by this one too. It really is a hit sensation- with Hollywood even wanting to remake it into an American TV show. It’s pretty, it’s fabulous, it’s pure gold. Celebrity status is something that everyone understands, but ‘My Love’ goes a little bit further in introducing it’s viewers into specifically Korean celebrities and how scandals work. Being a fantasy drama, there’s a lot of information presented that’s new to even Korean viewers, as one of our main leads isn’t even from Earth- so everything is spelled out pretty clearly. It’s a great drama to start on, as it also has some small historical segments in there as well- without being a dry, historical drama. It’s a wonderful, easy look-in on the beauty of the Joseon era that is easily understandable. It’s funny, witty and a phenomenal story with an array of brilliant characters and actors.

What were the K-Dramas that got you hooked?

Let's Eat

Let’s Eat

5.5/10

Let's Eat

Genre:                                 Episodes: 16                         Year: 2014

Comedy

Synopsis:

Lee Soo Kyung is a divorced woman who lives alone. Although Soo Kyung prefers to do everything by herself, she finds it embarrassing to do the thing she likes best alone- eat at famous restaurants. After a friendly, enthusiastic girl moves in next door, Soo Kyung finds herself spending a lot more time with both her neighbours. After discovering that they all love food, the three often go out to eat together.

Cast:

Lee Soo Kyung (Lee Soo Kyung)

Yoon Doo Joon (Gu Dae Young)

Yoon So Hee (Yoon Jin Yi)

Shim Hyung Tak (Kim Hak Moon)

Lee Do Yeon (Oh Do Yeon)

Feeldog (Hyun Kwang Seok)

General Thoughts:

Well, while this drama certainly didn’t land itself in any of my favourite lists, it wasn’t all bad. The show had glimpses of sweetness and quite often presented laugh out loud humour, and of course plenty of delicious food.

Okay, but far from exceptional

Where ‘Let’s Eat’ went wrong for me is that it felt kind of like it was trying really hard, then just gave up, before trying some more and getting tired again. The story line was quite confused- while the mystery elements were mildly interesting, they felt extremely out of place in a slice of life drama such as this one, and I really don’t think they could have executed the mystery worse.

Weird thriller killer with no backstory, and really no point

Also the heroine was a giant b*tch, and that’s certainly not doing anyone any favours. Although it meandered along not doing very much, it did avoid being completely boring. While I personally disliked the heroine, the rest of the characters were fun and quirky, though rather deprived of any depth. Jin Yi rapidly became my favourite character- she was just so adorable and Yoon So Hee pulled of her naivety and innocence perfectly, so the character only appeared inexperienced rather than dumb. Dae Young was interesting as a male lead, though I will admit that I didn’t care all that much what happened to him. Yoon Doo Joon played the role well and was highly amusing, though the character was hard to connect to emotionally. The downside of having a quirky, detached male lead who brushes everything off is that it starts to imply that nothing really impacts him- he’ll keep making shallow relationships that never go anywhere while working as an insurance salesman. Sure, this might not actually be the case, but as he got very little (dare I say no) character development, it was hard to grasp who he really was or grow attached to him.

We barely even know our male lead

Feeldog’s character probably had around ten times the development the hero had, and he was only in like…4 episodes. If that. Shim Hyung Tak was just a ball of laughs, and it was easy to steadily open up to his character. While at first Hak Moon seems like a total butt, it becomes obvious fairly quickly that he is in fact just a massive ball of insecurity with a squishy centre and haughty outside.

Solid ten out of ten for comedy

Watching his haughtiness clash with his squishiness was always entertaining, and Shim Hyung Tak nailed the nervous puppy-eyes. And I suppose that brings us to our female lead. Sigh. I think I would have enjoyed this series way more had our heroine…not been our heroine. I would have much preferred Jin Yi to be our lead- but I suppose there’s an infinite number of problems that would have cropped up if she had been. Soo Kyung was just not likeable. In any way shape or form. At no point in the series did I find her sweet or endearing or acceptable at all really. I don’t know if her prickly character was supposed to be funny or just make her a unique character- but I found it completely off-putting. She just seemed like a person who had no interest in the world around her, and who was content to stay in her own private bubble. And a character like that probably would have been fine- but it was the way Soo Kyung acted as if the world was a dirty place and everyone else that inhabited it was beneath her that really made me dislike her character. For almost 12 or so episodes, Soo Kyung doesn’t even like Jin Yi or  Dae Young- so I question why some people have said that this is a heartwarming tale of neighbours becoming family- because it’s really just a tale of Soo Kyung figuring out how to not be openly hostile to her neighbours.

How can anyone like her- she's such a cow

I guess you could say that her prickliness covers up her real character- but unfortunately her prickliness is basically all we see until she has a unbelievable personality transplant after discovering Dae Young is the author of her favourite blog. Soo Kyung is shallow and selfish from start to finish, and had very few redeeming qualities. The writing was a bit all over the shop too. Sometimes it was a slice-of-life, sometimes it was a thriller, sometimes it was a romance- and none too convincingly. Despite having no real ongoing plot, the drama still remained fairly engaging- an upside of having such poorly constructed leads and characters is that it’s not predictable which way the romance will swing.

Stealer of scenes

The thriller aspects were tacked on as an afterthought and really could have used some fleshing out- some episodes had no mystery moments at all, while others relied on it heavily. I didn’t mind the mystery/thriller parts, though I do wonder if that’s just because I wanted to see the heroine hit over the head with a blunt object. Who can tell. The romance stayed out of the series for the most part, but came in heavy at the end. I didn’t really love the pairing, but can appreciate that the scenes probably would have been pretty cute had I not written off Soo Kyung from episode 2 (and once I write a character off, they rarely get back in my good graces). There were some jokes that got old pretty fast- such as Do Yeon wrongly thinking that every man loved her, and some jokes I wish had been kept going longer- Dae Young and Hak Moon’s awkward, almost gay moments. The directing, while not amazing, was better than the writing, and knew how to make a comedic moment truly funny. The editing cuts and camera angles for our two main boys enhanced their goofiness and made them seem adorably ridiculous. Though I will admit that the lengthy shots of food and characters eating were probably a bit too lengthy. You could have a bathroom break, make a cup of tea or have a short nap and you won't have missed anything except for people having lunch. The Pomeranian was a total scene stealer and was adorable throughout. The soundtrack was also on point.

Just one of the many, many food shots

What Was Great:

Second Leads:

The second leads were fabulous, and had way more story than either of the main leads. Although Hak Moon was used mostly for comedic relief, he had a heap of emotion stacked into his story, and it was hard not to pity him.

Jin Yi is Number 1!

I actually preferred him with Soo Kyung (disregarding her awkwardness around him), as they both seemed to have similar harsh exteriors to cover whatever was inside (though I’m still doubtful about Soo Kyung). Hak Moon’s journey of self discovery was really quite entertaining and sweet, and he remained likeable as he never tried to force the heroine over to his way of thinking. Jin Yi was just all kinds of adorable and I loved her to pieces. She was everything that Soo Kyung wasn’t- nice, friendly, optimistic, and caring. I cared more for Jin Yi’s happiness than I did for Soo Kyung’s- probably another reason I wasn’t really onboard the central romance. I liked when they brought in the delivery-boy character for Jin Yi, though it was a little weird how they tried to make him a bad guy before promptly forgiving and forgetting. Though I really shipped that romance, so I’m not mad that it came through. Jin Yi was always likeable to me as I was always on her team, though I can understand people not loving the way she tried to interfere with Soo Kyung and Dae Young’s relationship. 

I wouldn't have minded a massive plot twist where Dae Young was keen on Hak Moon. At least it would have been funny.

Sound Effects:

These were wonderful and so on point it was ridiculous. It made everything so much funnier than it otherwise would have been and fit into the tone of the series well. It’s not one of the things you start out noticing is done well in a drama, but once you do notice it’s hard to ignore the extra hilarity the sound effects add.

What Wasn’t:

Soo Kyung:

I’ve really said all I need to about her. She sucks and I don’t like her.

Unfortunately she didn't choke

Romance:

Boy was this one unconvincing romance. It came so far out of left field. There was no warm up to Dae Young falling for Soo Kyung, and as he’d apparently sworn off women until he got rid of his debt, I found it hard to see what it was about Soo Kyung that made her so irresistible to him. I mean, she lost the dude $100 000.

As Yoon Doo Joon tries not to pee his pants laughing mid-snog

Soo Kyung’s interest in Dae Young was also super unconvincing. She’s gone from outright hating this man to barely tolerating him for the sake of Jin Yi and good food. Suddenly she finds out he’s the author of the blog she reads and her attitude completely changes. It’s not even like a gradual softening. Just BAM suddenly she loves him. It did nothing for Soo Kyung’s character, as it only made her seem that much more superficial.

My thoughts exactly

She hasn’t given a toss about this guy until she finds out about his blog. It felt much more like she was in love with the idea of Dae Young rather than Dae Young himself. I also wasn’t keen on the way the romance impacted the relationships with Jin Yi. Jin Yi was the one who brought them all together to eat, but neither Dae Young nor Soo Kyung really care about Jin Yi once they decode they like each other. Had it been a big eating group it might have been fair, but these guys have been doing everything together, and then suddenly the two pair off and start (indirectly or not) excluding Jin Yi. I was fairly on board with Jin Yi in thinking that Soo Kyung was out of line. While Soo Kyung has every right to date Dae Young if he likes her, she’s known for ever that this is the man Ji Yi likes, and has constantly been telling Jin Yi to go for it and that Jin Yi and Dae Young look good together. Then suddenly she turns around and starts dating Dae Young without giving Jin Yi any sort of heads up. Yeah, not cool at all.

Meanwhile Jin Yi's getting pushed off a roof by a psycho

I think I almost would have preferred the romance being left out of it completely, as the romance left me feeling dissatisfied on many fronts. Perhaps it really should have been just a show about three neighbours becoming really good friends.

Re-watch?

I’d rather not.

Jin Yi and Kwang Seok were my favourite part