KDrama to Watch: Oh! My Lady (2010)

Oh! My Lady (2010)

Grade: B+

16 Episodes, 1 Hr each

Viewing Platform: Viki

Yoon Gae-hwa is a divorced housewife and mother in her mid thirties, barely making ends meet since her own mother's cancer and early death used up all her alimony. Gae-hwa does her best with the odd jobs she is qualified for, but housekeeping doesn't pay much and isn't steady work, and she soon finds herself homeless. After begging her ex-husband to watch their daughter for a couple months, she stumbles upon a production company job opening through her temp agency's mistake. The production company offers Gae-hwa a paid internship position, despite her having no qualifications, but with one major stipulation: She has to “bring in” top star Sung Min-woo to be the lead in their original musical! Little do they know, Gae-hwa had just met the young star while fulfilling her temp agency's housecleaning assignment AND discovered an incredible secret about him. Will the housewife be able to convince the cocky star to join the show? What happens when Min-woo's manager also discovers the actor's secret? And how will Min-woo deal with his burgeoning feelings for the older woman thrust into his life?

*I was genuinely surprised at the complexity of the characters in this simple drama. Even my least favorite, the meddling scandal reporter, showed more than one side (albeit for him it took until the last episode). The plot is relatively simple, and each individual scene is at a slower pace than newer dramas, but I enjoyed the whole experience. Choi Siwon is adorable throughout, with a strength and energy that is charming yet unique to his character. Gae-hwa's character felt genuinely older than Min-woo, as she had the confidence in herself that comes to a lot of people in their thirties. I did have a problem with the youngest actress; the character's age was too old for the actress herself. The music was cute though, and it wasn't a totally predictable plot. I'd watch this again.*

KFilm to Maybe Watch: My Little Bride (2004)

My Little Bride (2004)

Grade: B-

Viewing Platform: Amazon Prime

Bo-eun is a 16 year old high school student, dealing with everything that comes at that age – grades, potential first loves, fights with other girls – with one major exception. Her grandfather is demanding that she marry her lifelong friend and senior, the art major about to graduate from college, Sang-min. The two were practically raised together, all because Bo-eun's grandfather and Sang-min's grandfather had made a pact of friendship that their families would one day become in-laws. After falling ill, the living grandfather manages to manipulate the two kids into fulfilling his wish, and they are married! Will Bo-eun be able to keep her marriage a secret from her peers? What happens when she tries to date a boy her own age anyway? And how will Sang-min convince Bo-eun to return his affections?

*Compared to most kdramas I watch, this had a much lower film quality and a very simple, slow plot. All the dialogue felt familiar though, despite the film's age. It was an interesting look at what might have happened in ancient times, when women were often married as young teenagers to older men. Sang-min was a gentleman though. For something that could have been very awkward, it was tastefully done (aside from one scene where Sang-min is watching porn at his newlywed apartment...). It was also interesting to realize just how much older he was – at first I thought he might be 24, but then they mentioned his 3 years of military service, making his character closer to 28 years old for an age gap of 12 years. That means he felt affection towards her as a toddler, preschooler, kindergartner, while he was in high school – it's a very different way to view love, to consider that it could grow along with the object of affection's age. I might watch this again.*

KDrama to Watch: Marriage Not Dating (2014)

Marriage Not Dating (2014)

Grade: B

16 Episodes, 1 Hour Each

Viewing Platform: Dramafever

Cheerful department store worker Joo Jang Mi decides to propose to her boyfriend of one year, the playboy Lee Hoon Dong. Fortunately Hoon Dong has backup; once he senses Jang Mi's intentions, he calls best friend Gong Ki Tae to help break up the couple. Jang Mi is relentless though, and plastic surgeon Ki Tae has to step in more than once to spell out that the relationship is over. Meanwhile, Ki Tae's meddling mother is threatening to sell Ki Tae's home – his sanctuary – unless he settles down and gets married. Out of desperation and a need to settle things once and for all against his mother, Ki Tae hatches a plan: find a girl that his mother would NEVER accept, and pretend to be dating her. The perfect accomplice is of course the sincere and sympathetic Jang Mi, with the promise of revenge against Hoon Dong. What happens when the supposedly simple lie in this game of chicken with Ki Tae's mother keeps growing bigger? Will Jang Mi be able to keep seeing the mysterious and handsome waiter at Hoon Dong's restaurant? How will Ki Tae handle the realization that he doesn't want the deception to end?

*This drama is more risque than most Korean dramas I've seen, with the characters sleeping around, showing a lot of skin, and drinking a lot – but nothing more than a PG-13 movie would show. Jang Mi's character is cute, and I love when the prideful guy realizes the girl he thinks he'd NEVER love ends up fulfilling him in ways he didn't think possible. This had a great pace as well, with very few slow moments, and the writers managed to show some real character development over the course of the drama. The music was fun, too. I might watch it again.*

KDrama to Miss: She Was Pretty (2015)

She Was Pretty (2015)

Grade: C+

16 Episodes, 1 Hr each

Viewing Platform: Dramafever

Kim Hye Jin used to be a pretty, popular girl, but after puberty, the other half of her genetics kicked in, and she's no longer the cute, outgoing girl of her childhood. Instead she bounces around from temp job to temp job after college, as the larger companies won't give her a second glance. In the meantime, her chubby, awkward elementary school friend Ji Sung Joon has grown up to be quite the success, and handsome to boot. After losing contact for many years, Sung Joon makes an extra effort to reach his former friend, but what happens when Hye Jin decides to ask her best friend Min Ha Ri to pretend to be her when meeting Sung Joon again? Will Hye Jin survive her new job working temporarily at a top fashion magazine – the same magazine which Sung Joon has been assigned to save? And how long will Ha Ri keep up the charade of being Hye Jin?

*The premise is cute, with the idea of first loves finding each other later in life and falling for each other again, but the second male lead FAR outshone the lead, even to the point I was hoping Shin Hyuk would win over Hye Jin. There were even clues in the writing that hinted at Sung Joon simply needing to see Hye Jin for closure, that it wasn't necessarily his destiny to be with her, and how Ha Ri needed Sung Joon more than Hye Jin did. I also didn't think the timing for Hye Jin's makeover made sense – why didn't she do it sooner if she knew her looks were part of the problem in finding employment? Or why not do it before meeting Sung Joon, if she was embarrassed with how she looked, or after the first 3 times the big magazine boss said she didn't look the part for the job? Hye Jin's character was rather annoying as well, and I didn't like the slow focus camera technique that this director favored. It really dragged toward the end as well. If you just want a simple, light drama, this could work for you.*

KFilm to Miss: Mood of the Day (2016)

Mood of the Day (2016)

Grade: C

Viewing Platform: Amazon Prime

Bae Soo Jung has to travel to Busan via train for an important business meeting, pitching the advertising agency she works for to a potential new client. The day doesn't start off well – she is hit in the back of the head with a basketball and spills coffee all over her suit as a result, then Soo Jung hears that one of her friends is engaged to her former high school sweetheart. After that, a handsome yet crude young man shares the seat next to her on the long train ride, telling her that he will be sleeping with her that night, and then their train breaks down halfway to Busan. Kim Jae Hyun is used to one-night stands and confident in his charms, so despite Soo Jung rebuffing his efforts, once he finds out she would love to sign on the famous basketball player that Jae Hyun's agency represents, he decides to help facilitate a meeting – if they can find the elusive sports star. Will Jae Hyun convince Soo Jung to have a little fun? Or will she prove her point that sleeping around is empty and meaningless?

*The film has a few cute moments, but it felt much too similar to American movie plots with American values and the nonchalant acceptance of cheating in relationships when they're “basically over” anyway. I can't root for a couple when *spoiler alert* their relationship starts with one or both parties cheating on another person. The comic relief character was kind of gross, too. I wouldn't watch this again.

JDrama to Miss: Happy Marriage!? (2016)

Happy Marriage!? (2016)

Grade: C

12 Episodes, 35 minutes each

Viewing Platform: Amazon Prime

Takanashi Chiwa is working hard at a local office supply store, barely making ends meet while her gambling-addict father spends everything she earns. A mysterious gentleman shows up at Chiwa's day job one day and offers to marry her. She declines, deciding that she would rather marry for love, but then some loan sharks show up at her home – her dad had racked up a substantial gambling debt and she was going to have to work as a prostitute to pay it all off. Then the man shows up again and pays off the loan, and Chiwa finally agrees to the contract marriage. Little does she realize she is now married to Mamiya Hokuto, one of the richest men in Japan. He agreed to marry Chiwa in order to please the head of the Mamiya family. What happens when she meets Hokuto's family? Will Hokuto and Chiwa end up finding true love, or will one of the Mamiya family members finish what they started 30 years ago, when Hokuto's mother was killed?

*There's something about how Japanese culture is portrayed in these kinds of dramas (and mangas) in how women are treated compared to men that doesn't sit right with me. The men are very domineering towards women. They do show women having business success, but for the most part it's a “man's world.” Plus their dramas emphasize the tragic side of humanity, with very few humorous moments. There was a little bit of character development, and the actor who plays Hokuto is handsome, but I didn't quite buy how things worked out. I wouldn't watch this again.*

KFilm to Miss: Wonderful Nightmare (2015)

Wonderful Nightmare (2015) 

Viewing Platform: Amazon Prime

A powerful attorney does whatever it takes to please her influential and wealthy clients, bullying and taking advantage of the less educated and vulnerable members of society, until one day when she accidentally dies before her time. What happens when the soul-sorting center offers her a chance to live for just one month in another person's life (in order to correct another error they had made) and then go back to her normal life? Will she be able to convince the family that she is a loving stay at home mother and supportive wife, or will everyone know she's someone different?

*The premise had promise, and while I was pleased to see the handsome Song Seung-heon (from “My Princess” 2011), the story didn't really captivate me. The family still had to lose their mother, and there wasn't any guarantee the attorney lady would be able to join the family as the step-mother. There are a couple F-bombs and some sad/scary situations where young girls are taken advantage of, or nearly so, and those are hard to watch. I wouldn't watch this again.*