KDrama

The Real Has Come ep 1-10

by maandoe

Profile:

Drama: The Real Has Come!
Country: South Korea
Episodes: 50
Aired: Mar 25, 2023 – Sep 10, 2023
Aired On: Saturday, Sunday
Original Network: KBS2, Netflix
Duration: 1 hr. 20 min.

Plot: A pregnant woman whose boyfriend refuses to take responsibility meets a doctor who is being forced to get married to a girl he doesn’t like. They decide to have a contract marriage to solve their problems.

Main Cast:
Ahn Jae Hyun – Gong Tae Kyung
Baek Jin Hee – Oh Yeon Do

First impressions:
Yes, I’m enjoying this new weekend drama! Very makjang-y although I hate how everyone is trying to tell Yeondoo to abort her baby. Is it really that normal in Korea? I’m aghast that even her mom is asking her to do such thing. Not asking but forcing her and dragging her to have an abortion! Even her brother is disgusting! How can you say that to your sister when he got a girl pregnant at 17 and his daughter is hearing everything you are saying to her aunt! The only good thing about Yeon Doo’s family is the uncle.

Likewise, Tae Kyung’s family is equally horrible. Especially the grandma. She is manipulative and selfish. She hates Tae Kyung because he is not flesh and blood and she controls his moves. Why does the grandma love Sejin so much and no one in the family knows how manipulative liar she is!! Se Jin takes after her mother and I can’t imagine how a greedy mom like her got married to a professor! As for Tae Kyung’s (half?) siblings, it seems like they also don’t think much of TK.

And don’t even get me started on the ex-boyfriend, Kim Jun Ha. He is absolute trash and he and Sejin should just get married and get the heck away from everyone!

The strongest point of this drama are the main leads – Yeon Doo and Tae Kyung are great! i think without them (and the actors playing them), a lot of viewers would be turned off! But they are doing a fantastic job so far and makes us viewers want to root for them even more!! Can’t wait for the contract marriage to start!!

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Chief of Staff S1 (2019)

by maandoe

Profile
Drama: Chief of Staff (보좌관 – 세상을 움직이는 사람들)
Network: JTBC
Episodes: 10
Release Date: June 14 – July 13, 2019
Runtime: Friday & Saturday 23:00

Plot: A Chief of Staff of a popular Assemblyman fights back at their enemies while trying to fulfill his own ambition. But at what cost?

Main cast:

Lee Jung Jae – Jang Tae Jun

Shin Minah – Kang Seon Young

Kim Kap Soo – Song Hui Seop

Kim Hong Pa – Jo Gap Yeong

Jung Jin Young – Lee Sung Min

Review

I believe that Jang Tae Jun can fix whatever problem he faces. He’s that good at his job. But it is also scary because he can do terrible things but still come out as justifiable and better than the others.

I also love Kang Seon Young, she is as sly as Tae Jun but is a lot cleaner in handling things. She also doesnt back away even when against the old bad guys in politics.

I actually love them as a couple, i’m impressed that despite being in opposite camps most of the time, they are able to fight back and protect each other. I just find it unbelievable that no one knew of their relationship for 5 years yet each one can dig the dirtiest secret from each other. Lol. They even live in together and no one realized they had the same address?

I also like the bad guys.. i think they casted almost all of the usual baddies in dramas. I also liked the supporting swuad, from Hyewon, who is willing to help Taejun, Manseok as Seonyoung’s trusted aide, to Dogyeong the naive intern.

I was shocked twice and both were tragic. End of ep 8 when Taejun’s mentor killed himself. And last episode when another person died. Totally didnt expect these plot twists. It’s like saying you really wont survive politics if you are too clean. You need to be as smart and manipulative as everyone to survive. Even if your intentions are good.

A little stressful to watch because every episode was tense and full of backstabbing, blackmailing and too many dirty politics. Do they really want the world to change or are they all just selfish?

Rating: 8.5/10

On to S2!!

Divorce Attorney Shin (2023)

by maandoe

Drama: Sacred Divorce (신성한, 이혼)
Network: JTBC
Episodes: 12
Release Date: March 4 – April 9, 2023
Runtime: Saturday & Sunday 22:30
Language: Korean
Country: South Korea

Plot: A story of a pianist turned lawyer and his friends as they go through various divorce cases.

Main Cast:
Cho Seung Woo – Shin Sung Han
Han Hye Jin – Lee Seo Jin
Kim Sung Kyung – Jang Hyung Gun
Jung Moon Sung – Jo Jeong Sik

Review:
I binge watched this over the Lenten weekend because I was in a mood for something light.

The best thing about the show is the bromance between the 3 guys. They are so close, they know when one is crying or hurting. They do things without asking if it’s going to help the other. They laugh at each other and eat and drink together. It’s rare to see this type of friendship depicted in Kdramas and I love it.

I also like Seojin. Although the affair was wrong, I hope that she recovers from her trauma and start her healing. I thought there was going to be a romance between Shin and SJ but I think it’s better to remain friends (for now). Actually her case can just be a great episodic opener but her character became part of the team even though she doesn’t have a connection to the overarching story.

I also liked the side love story of Hyeong Gun and Soyeon. And the ex-wife. I think Hyeong Gun is a great guy. I wish there was more depth in the story of Jeong Sik other than being the person who introduced Sung Han’s sister to the crooked lawyer. and I love that he supports his friends and means well, but keeps getting into trouble lol.

I felt like although the 12 episodes were tight and fast paced, it was like we missed a little background. Like why the big change from pianist to divorce lawyer? It was the plot point that was being highlighted but I don’t really see how it connects other than Sung Han using pianists background to explain the cases. Also, the motivation to protect his nephew wasn’t enough big twist or plot, although I think Sung Han is so soft and sensitive, suddenly being hell bent on revenge is not his character. I’m also curious what went wrong with the sister’s marriage that she got divorced? Did the husband and the second wife had an affair and kicked her out? Or did they naturally break up before the second wife came into the picture? Majority of the episodes the husband was very passive and deferring to the second wife, who is so evil, i don’t understand why the husband will let go to the nice sister and get with her. And why is the second wife so evil other than thinking the husband is hers? Like why even bother force the custody of the kid if she won’t treat him well too? And she is so dumb to try to kick the kid out of his inheritance when he is the grandson / possible heir to the chaebol money? She deserved everything she got in the end. She didn’t get the money, and she also lost her husband’s try and was told to shut up and live quietly. All of these questions just weren’t explained that well to understand the real issues. An extra 1-2 eps would have helped.

Otherwise I loved the drama. The only thing missing was camping with the 3 guys, 2 ladies and the 2 boys as the ending scene.

Rating: 8.25/10

Uncanny Counter S1 (2020)

by maandoe

Profile:
Drama: The Uncanny Counter (경이로운 소문)
Network: OCN
Episodes: 16
Release Date: November 28, 2020 – January 24, 2021
Runtime: Sat. & Sun. 22:30

Plot: A group of counters fights evil spirits and finds out a connection between the spirits and the tragic accident years ago.

Main Cast
Joe Byung Gyu – So Moon
Kim Se Jeong – Do Hana
Yum Hye Ran – Chu Mae Ok
Yoo Jun Sang – Ga Mo Tak

Review:
I love the counters team and how they end up becoming their own family. Each one has their own skills and powers, although why So Moon is the strongest was never explained fully except saying he is the door to the world and Yung. My favorite counter is Ga Mo Tak then the old lady is the second. I liked So Mun at the start, but he keeps crying like a baby in the latter episodes it was annoying. Hana is a bit boring and she needs to change her hairstyle.

I like overarching story about So Gwon, Kim Yeong Nim, and the people who were helping them bring down Shin Myung Hui. Huhu I didn’t expect Detective Yeong Jeong to die!!! However, this could have been 12 episodes, but they stretched the story to make it 16. Scenes were starting to get repetitive in the latter half. I mean, the thugs are trying to kill them, they escape. They try to fight Cheong Sin and the Mayor but they keep failing. Repeat for the next 4 eps until So Moon gets stronger and stronger to finally beat them. I like the main villain and the mayor, but not Ji Cheongsin and the girl. I didn’t really care what happens to them and i just fast forwarded some of their scenes.
3. The people in white arent too helpful. The counters are risking their lives yet they get angry if they try to use the powers for revenge and are too judgey. Why dont they go down and fight the evil spirits then?

I also wanted to try eonni’s noodles!

Looking forward to season 2 coming soon!!

Rating: 8.75/10