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flyinglotus777 · 3 years

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Netflix’s Squid Game

SPOILER ALERT! If you are interested in watching the series, I HIGHLY suggest you do so. This article will be an overall synopsis and my review of the show. For an in-depth analysis of the symbolism of the show and ending, scroll down to the fourth to last paragraph.

The Netflix show, “Squid Game,” written and directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk is a phenomenal Korean drama centered around our victor, Seong Gi-hun, played by Lee Jung-jae. Contestants were recruited to play in a life or death competition due to their lack of luck, financial knowledge, and influx of impending debt they have accumulated throughout their lives. We first meet Gi-hun as he is down on his luck. Living with his elderly, overworked mother (which in countries outside of the United States is not strange nor uncommon) Gi-hun was a friend to gambling, but that toxic love caused him to be in debt to a gang of (what seemed to be) loan sharks. When luck finally strikes him on the race track, life simultaneously decides to take an excrement on his reality. His debt seekers catch him on his hot streak and involuntarily sign him up to be a participant in the Squid Game.

Similar to many other of the 456 participants, they all shared a common denominator of being in situations it seemed only money could fix. Upon arrival the contestants were asked to voluntarily sign wavers in order to participate in the game, while unknowingly risking their lives, for the opportunity to win 456 billion won (which would be roughly over $3.5 million in US currency). The challenges were mostly based on nostalgic childhood games, both based in the United States and South Korea.

Now I knew due to the explanation in the introduction of episode one that if any player were to lose, they would die. So during the first challenge of red light green light, when players were bulletly penalized for losing I was not surprised. After the game, the players decided to rally together and quit playing. The influence of the cash prize split the decision down the middle, leaving the old man, player 1, to be the final decision. To my surprise he actually chose to decline, freeing all of the players. During the voting, many players screamed at each other as to why they would choose to stay in the hell hole as other players responded that the outside world was not any better if not the same as the harsh environment they were already in. This reality struck many contestants as they returned back to their reality of debt, dependents, and for some bounty hunts, thus resulting in them returning to the game.

During the whole season, I was trying to find the purpose of these games. We knew why the participants felt motivated to play, but I wondered what was the purpose of having them fight for their lives in the first place. When the PlayStation faced soldiers forced the doctor (player 111) to dissect the bodies for organs to sell at the black market, at first I thought that it was what the original game maker wanted which I thought was genius. Soon to learn that it was actually a violation to a code of equality that was placed inside the arena applying to all of those who existed, soldiers and participants alike. Which struck me as odd due to the soldiers being able to tote guns and wear masks based on their own hierarchy and the participants being collectively isolated and given numbers as if it was a remake of the Stanford Prison experiment. Nonetheless many soldiers faced the same fate as the players, and my pondering would meet the solution come the finale.

Let’s discuss players. I only favored Gi-hun because he was the protagonist, but throughout the story he grew on me as his big heart prevailed through the madness. I knew Choo Sang-woo, the embezzling business man and hometown friend of Gi-hun played by Park Hae-soo, was a psychopath when I saw him in a fully filled bathtub with his suit on. Running from the police, in debt or not, that’s just as much of a red flag for serial killer tendencies as sleeping with socks on or having too thin and highly arched eyebrows. The episode that he crossed Ali, the father of one from Pakistan with the missing fingers, made me hate Sang-woo for the rest of the series. I was infuriated and frustrated with Ali for being that naïve to believe that they could escape the round as a duo, but understood his perspective since up until that point Sang-woo was a dependable, trusted ally to Ali. However after that episode I didn’t care who won, I was just ready for Sang-woo to die.

Kang Sae-byeok, the skeptical and beautiful warrior from North Korea played by Jung Ho-yeon, deserves her own paragraph. Along with her beauty, her presence and demeanor was so bad ass. She was thrifty and intelligent, as her talent being pick pocketing. I was waiting for her to just be so bad ass. As the punk disguised to be gangster, Jang Deok-su, pushed her around which seemed to be normal behavior between the two, I was ready for Sae-byeok to twist his arm, send a plunging round house kick to his nuts, and cut his snake tattoo right off of his face. Although her exterior was tough, her heart was made of malleable gold which we got to see as she opened up to her female companion during the marble challenge and sobbed from her loss afterwards. Although she was not the killer bad ass queen I had wanted her to be, I still call her a warrior because of her resiliency throughout life’s and the game’s many obstacles and her drive to provide her younger brother with a better life.

Thankfully Deok-su got what he deserved as Han Mi-nyeo poetically decided to take both of their lives during the glass challenge. “You said we would be together till the end,” she said before diving into her inevitable death with her short lived lover. Mi-nyeo was incredibly annoying as I would often pinch the inside corners of my eyes and scratch my eyebrows when she would appear. However that crazy bitch served justice, and I love her for that.

I was highly disappointed by the demise of the detective Hwang Jun-ho, played by the handsome Wi Ha-joon. I was rooting for detective Jun-ho, as I’m sure we all were, on his pursuit to find his brother. I was not surprised that his brother was Front Man, as I had suspected that his brother must’ve died or been apart of the game making due to his absence in real life and the current game. After discovering his brother was the victor of his year, to me it only made sense that he would be apart of the game enforcement. As we saw from Gi-hun, a normal life is impossible to live after experiencing something so traumatic as a series of death ridden children games. However I was saddened and surprised that detective Jun-ho was unsuccessful in closing down the whole operation. I mean the man was close to performing forced, aristocratic fellatio in the name of serving and protecting the law. I truly thought because he had gotten so far and was so close to exposing the operation that the only choice he had was to be successful. At last he was shot and killed by his own blood, the one he had been looking for; providing us with a cinematic and heart jerking ending to detective Jun-ho.

Lastly lets discuss the old man, player 001 named O Yeong-su, whom I also nicknamed Poppy during the series. Deceivingly innocent and weak, I genuinely liked Yeong-su throughout the game play. I thoroughly enjoyed his relationship with Gi-hun and saw him as a valuable player in most instances. I believe he was one of the main reasons that Gi-hun continued to lead with his heart. Gi-hun claimed that Yeong-su was the reason he returned to the games and later found out that Yeong-su was the reason there were games in the first place. The climatic episode of the marble challenge was when their relationship had been defined as “gganbu” (which is a term for trusted, close friends in Korean, as explained in the series), thus Yeong-su establishing a special place in Gi-hun’s heart. During the challenge, Yeong-su begins to have an episode of what we all assumed to be dementia as the arena they are playing in is designed like his old neighborhood and he abandons the game to take a trip down memory lane. Gi-hun screams in frustration at the old man to play with him only to end up losing in their even and odd game and resulting in deceit, tricking the old man to let him be the victor. Now if I was Gi-hun, I would’ve convinced Yeong-su to let me hold his marbles for safe keeping and let him have a fun time reminiscing on his life while he ran down the clock. Then when it was time, I would’ve turned in all 20 marbles just as Sang-woo did and went about my business. It would’ve only been right for the old man to forfeit as he was already on his death bed, or so we innocently thought. Before I get into the ending, I want to talk about the last match between Sang-woo and Gi-hun.

Finally, the last game to see who would be victorious in a highly anticipated game of Squid between Gi-hun and Sang-woo. It seemed as if it were a battle between good vs evil; Gi-hun representing a more benevolent side as he would often optimistically look to help other competitors and extend the kindness he had been shown versus Sang-woo who represented a more vindictive and ruthless side, determined to hurt anyone in order to receive his highly coveted and long awaited prize in an arena that erased any foundation of morals or ethics as soon as the light turned red. Luck was on Gi-hun’s side as he had the opportunity to play offense. With a cunning mind and a vengeance for Sae-byeok’s death, Gi-hun delivered a can of whoop ass to his opponent. As the saying goes, the good shall always prevail. Perhaps his heart was too pure as Gi-hun halted from crossing the finish line and offered Sang-woo a chance to live, thus forfeiting the prize money. Needless to say, I applauded when Sang-woo committed suicide as it was the only right thing to do in his position.

A year passed by and Gi-hun seemed worse than before. Physically his style was bummy wealthy, a look pioneered by Bill Gates, but mentally he was in shambles. How could you blame him? Gi-hun discovered that the responsible party for these horrendous events was none other than his ggangbu, old man Yeong-su. The biggest, jaw dropping plot twist of the entire series. As they were joined on Christmas Eve and Yeong-su on his death bed, they placed one final bet on an assumed to be drunken, homeless man who sat on the streets as it snowed and waited for help to arrive. Yeong-su explained how he actually wanted to help people and give his money to people who needed it, but wanted to do it in an “entertaining way.” As Gi-hun flared with outrage towards the old man for finding amusement in killing people, the old man rebutted using horse races as an example of people’s amusement. Yeong-su also said he participated in the games because it was more fun to play than to be a spectator, which I had noticed him treating the competition as if it were adult summer camp. I had just assumed since he was old, he didn’t care if he had died or not.

I think most people will think that this show was a metaphor about how money and rich people are evil. However I think it can be seen as commentary on society as a whole, not just the wealthy. Yeong-su says on his death bed that it’s a test of humanity, and asks Gi-hun if he still has faith in humanity after what he has experienced. Although money was the luring motivator to win the game, people still chose to return to the competition to escape their problems. Sure, money was apart of their problems as all of the players (excluding Yeong-su) were in debt, but that was due to choices that they had made. Whether it had been through embezzling, gambling, lack of luck, or financial ignorance, it was the people who had gotten themselves into those situations. Money doesn’t have a personal vendetta against anyone nor does it have an inherent quality of good or evil. Money is a neutral energy used to be exchanged for goods and services. It’s people who designate that energy to their humane or inhumane desires.

Leading to the next point of the wealthy and how they are seen to be evil due to having wealth. Although I do believe that there are some wealthy people who act as villains, money didn’t create the villain inside of them. Those people were going to behave maliciously whether they have money or not. The VIPs, who were spectating the finale of challenges, were tied to a bank devoted to the wealthy and gambled on the competitors who played (and most likely helped subsidize the events). We place judgement on them, but as Yeong-su said, people gamble on horse races. Although people are not animals and by my knowledge I don’t believe most or any horses die during these races, it is still the principle of watching an entity being tortured for amusement, which is not only confined to the wealthy population. When the concept of killing and tormenting living breathing beings for amusement is normalized within society, the lines begin to blur on who is okay to perform and who is not. Take the audience of this show for example, we all watched a show where hundreds of people were mercilessly killed for the desire of winning a cash prize for our own amusement, thus making “Squid Game” the number one show on Netflix at the moment. Although the show is fictional and brilliantly written, this Hunger Games concept is not new. We come in contact again and again with the idea of people who are disadvantaged given an opportunity to better their lives through inhumane means, including risking their own lives or actively sacrificing the life of another, and being spectators on the edge of our seats who can’t seem to look away. It is no different than a Roman gladiator match in a grand colosseum, which in modern day would be a MMA fight at the MGM hotel. We blame it on the rich who are ridiculed for creating these events, but at the end of the day it is the people, rich,poor, and everyone in between, who continue to still go along with it and to some extent desire it. Which makes me question, what does that say about humanity, and do I actually have faith in us? Although Gi-hun went through hell and back, he still remained pure of heart and used his wealth to enhance his life and those around him; proving that wealthy people can still be benevolent and desire righteous good. Similar to Gi-hun, the optimist in me wants to believe that there are still people in this world with good hearts, but I guess we just have to wait until the time comes to see.

Ultimately the show was phenomenal, and definitely sparked a desire inside of me to watch more Korean dramas. I don’t think the show will have a second season. Simply because I think the story line would be better cut off there, thus leaving the audience always wanting more. However if season 2 ever comes out, I’m ready for Gi-hun to take a Liam Neeson approach to ending the Squid Game and hopefully with a beard. Thank you for reading my article. I know it was incredibly lengthy. I have just finished the season after a 2 day binge watch, and have a lot of emotions and thoughts ruminating in my brain. Let me know what you think of the show and what you think of the article. Did anyone else notice the paintings of the games on the walls of the dormitory?

God bless.

#squid game #netflix #review #korean drama #kdrama #series review #web series

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ryuichirou · 2 years

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You're absolute right. Sang woo & Gi-hun and Sae-byeok & Ji-yeong have the best chemistry in the series. Speaking of Sang woo, a lot of people and by that I mean like the majority of the Fandom, hates him. Imo, sure, he was a bitch in the end but Imo he's the most realistic, most complex character so I can't bring myself to hate him. Why do you like him? What do you make of him?

Huh? What is it? An opportunity to talk about Sang-woo for 30 minutes?? Don’t mind if I do-

Just like you said, Sang-woo is a very realistic and complex character. And it’s easy to hate him (I’ll talk about that in a second), but when you remember that the whole premise of the show is that these people are desperate and their lives depend on that cash prize (quite literally), it puts things into perspective. And I’m not talking about the game itself; this is still true to their irl situation, especially when it’s Sang-woo we’re talking about. 6 billion won is a lot of money. Realistically, it’s an impossible debt to pay. The situation is terrible as it is, but when you add the fact that he didn’t just screw his own life up, he’s also dragged his mother’s house and business into it, it gets even worse, especially considering how sweet and proud of him and painfully oblivious his mother is. I start feeling intense guilt even just thinking about it, one can only imagine whatever’s happening inside of Sang-woo’s head. This + his desperate financial situation put Sang-woo in a very dark place, to that scene in the bathtub from Ep2. He quite literally didn’t have any other choice but to kill himself, and that still doesn’t solve either his debt problem or the fact that his mother will lose everything no matter whether he lives or not.

I feel like people tend to forget that this person almost killed himself at the very beginning of the show. This is the point he’s at when he enters the game. Sang-woo’s options are limited: he either dies or somehow miraculously gets the money. This game is literally a miracle for him. He doesn’t see any other ways to save himself from the situation he’s in. He’s way too desperate and consumed by guilt to think about morality and what’s fair and what isn’t fair. I really like this aspect of his character. He also constantly feels pressure because of Gi-hun reminding him about how he was supposed to be great because of the proper education he got, how smart he was and everything along the line – it’s like he was given every single opportunity to be successful, yet he failed at life. And when you look at him, his entire presence oozes despair. Park Hae-soo played him perfectly: whenever you see Sang-woo, he looks so uncomfortable, so uneasy.

I’m not saying he wasn’t a backstabbing bitch, he absolutely was lol, and this is one of the reasons he’s such a cool character: he makes you feel things. Like I said, it’s very easy to hate Sang-woo, because he betrayed Ali, who’s not only an innocent guy, but also the sweetest person alive. It’s easy to hate Sang-woo, because even though Sae-byeok was already dying and there was no way the masked guys were going to treat her, murdering her was a brutal thing to do. But everything he does makes sense, and this is the most upsetting (and awesome) part.

I think someone said that Sang-woo’s actions hurt more than Deok-su’s because we want to root for Sang-woo and we want him to be a good guy, so of course he’s so hated. Which is fair to a degree, but if anything, I think it’s a proof that the writer of the show is fucking amazing at his job. We’re supposed to be confused by Sang-woo, we’re supposed to feel betrayed and hurt by his actions, and all of it makes him an amazing character.

Don’t you like it how we always end up choosing the most hated characters as our faves for some reason.

Sooo yeah something among the lines. Thanks for your question and for enabling me to talk about this topic! We’ve been thinking about it and discussing it for a while now lol

#replies

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Squid Game: Best of the Cast’s Shows and Movies to Watch

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This Squid Game article contains some spoilers, though not the outcome of the game.

There are so many things to like about Squid Game, Netflix‘s Korean-language series about a group of desperate people competing in a deadly game, but one of the major ones is the stellar cast. Featuring some well-known Korean actors, as well as some relative newcomers to the acting scene, Squid Game‘s ensemble is more than ready to elevate the clever script and sharp direction. If you’re interested in checking out other projects from this cast after finishing Squid Game, here are our recommendations!

Lee Jung-jae (이정재) as Seong Gi-hun

Squid Game character: Leading the cast of characters is Lee Jung-jae’s Gi-hun, a man who has fallen on tough times after losing his job and his marriage. We are first introduced to Gi-hun in the context of his gambling addiction, as he desperately trues to get out of crippling debt in order to be a better father, son, and friend.

What to watch next: Lee Jung-jae is a 48-year-old actor who began his career as a model before transitioning into TV and later film. Notable projects include Il Mare, the 2000 film on which Hollywood’s The Lake House was based and 2013’s historical drama The Face Reader, in which Lee has second-billing as Grand Prince Suyang.

Jung Ho-yeon (정호연) as Kang Sae-byeok

Squid Game character: Jung Ho-yeon plays Kang Sae-byeok (aka the one who looks like ENHYPEN’s Ni-ki), a North Korean defector who decides to play Squid Game in order to get the money to get her mother out of North Korea and to create a stable life for her younger brother, who is currently living in an orphanage.

What to watch next: Jung Ho-yeon will no doubt be one of the breakout stars of Squid Game. The 27-year-old actress is a successful model, and has previously appeared on Korea’s Next Top Model. Squid Game is her first on-screen role, so we’ll have to wait to see what she does next. In the meantime, you can rewatch Squid Game or check out Season 4 of Korea’s Next Top Model.

Park Hae-soo (박해수) as Cho Sang-woo

Squid Game character: Cho Sang-woo grew up with protagonist Gi-hun, and is the success story of his neighborhood after going to a prestigious university and making it big as a businessman. Unbeknownst to Gi-hun and Sang-woo’s mother, Sang-woo has stolen money from his clients and is wanted by the police. He enters Squid Game in an attempt to make back the money so that he can save his mother’s business and house, both of which he risked to back his illegal activities.

Squid Game Ending Explained

By Kayti Burt

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What to watch next: Park Hae-soo is a 39-year-old actor who is perhaps previously best known, especially to international audiences, for his starring role in 2017’s Prison Playbook (one of our Best Korean Dramas to Watch on Netflix). In the drama, Park plays a baseball player who unexpectedly lands himself in jail days before his major league baseball debut. The show follows his life within prison, along with the lives of other inmates and guards, including his former best friend, who is now a corrections officer. Prison Playbook is one of the most popular K-dramas ever.

Wi Ha-joon (위하준) as Hwang Jun-ho

Squid Game character: Wi Ha-joon plays Hwang Jun-ho, who is a bit of an outlier character in a series that mostly features characters in the game as protagonists. Unlike Gi-hun or Sang-woo, Jun-ho is a cop who is investigating Squid Game after finding one of the game’s calling cards in his missing brother’s apartment. He does a pretty good job too, infiltrating the operation in diverse ways.

What to watch next: Wi is a 30-year-old actor with a solid filmography. If you’re a horror fan, check out Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum, a 2018 found footage horror film that takes place in the former Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital, considered to be one of Korea’s most-haunted places. You could also check out Midnight, a 2021 thriller in which Wi plays a serial killer. If you’re looking for something a bit softer, Wi has a supporting role in 2018 romantic drama Something in the Rain, in which he stars as one protagonist’s younger brother and the other protagonist’s best friend.

Oh Young-soo (오영수) as Oh Il-nam

Squid Game character: Oh Young-soo plays Oh Il-nam, the oldest contestant in Squid Game, and someone Gi-hun feels some responsibility for as the game progresses.

What to watch next: Oh Young-soo is a 76-year-old actor with a filmography that mostly includes monk roles. His previous work has mostly included playing supporting roles, but if you want to see him in something else, check out 2003 feature film A Little Monk, about a generation of three monks living in one temple, or Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring, a 2003 film about the life of a Buddhist monk.

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Heo Sung-tae as Jang Deok-su

Squid Game character: Heo Sung-tae plays Jang Deok-su, a gangster who enters Squid Game to settle his gambling debts, and who refuses to trust anyone in the process.

What to watch next: Heo Sung-tae is a 43-year-old actor with an extensive filmography. If you’d like to see him in a very different project, check out Racket Boys, a recent Netflix K-drama in which he appears as the coach of a boys badminton team in Episodes 10-12. If you’d like to see him in another dastardly role, check out 2021’s Beyond Evil, in which he plays a cold-blooded businessman.

Kim Joo-ryung (김주령) as Han Mi-nyeo

Squid Game character: Kim Joo-ryung stars as Han Mi-nyeo, a woman who will say or do whatever she has to in order to find her best chance at winning. Originally introduced claiming to be a new mother, we never actually learn that much about Mi-nyeo’s life outside of the game.

What to watch next: Kim Joo-ryung is a 45-year-old actress with an extensive filmography, though mostly in supporting roles. (Hopefully, her impressive turn in Squid Game will lead to more opportunities for the actress.) If you’d like to see her in a minor role in a successful drama, Kim appears in Episodes 16 and 17 of 2018 historical drama Mr. Sunshine. If you’d like to see Kim in a central role, check out 2012 feature Sleepless Night, in which she plays one half of a married couple working to get through daily life.

Tripathi Anupam as Abdul Ali

Squid Game character: Tripathi Anupam plays Ali, a 33-year-old Pakistani man who joins the game in order to get the money to support his family, including his parents and brother back in Pakistan and his wife and baby son, who traveled with him to Korea.

What to watch next: Tripathi Anupam is a 32-year-old Indian-born actor, who is another standout in Squid Game and a rare actor of non-Korean descent in the Korean TV and film industry. Anupam had a small appearance in Netflix’s Korean sci-fi feature Space Sweepers, in which he appeared as James Sullivan’s secretary. Most of Anupam’s previous roles have been minor, with Squid Game being a breakout role for the actor.

Lee Yoo-mi (이유미) as Ji-yeong

Squid Game character: Lee Yoo-mi plays Ji-yeong, a young woman who we find out entered the game immediately after having been released from prison for the crime of killing her abusive father. She becomes close with Sae-byeok, who recruits her to join her team for tug-of-war.

What to watch next: Lee Yoo-mi is a 27-year-old actress who has appeared in many TV shows and films, mostly in supporting roles. If you’d like to see her in another drama, check out 365: Repeat the Year, a time travel drama that sees 10 people given the chance to travel back a year to “reset” their lives, only to find themselves in danger.

Gong Yoo (공유) as The Salesman

Squid Game character: Gong Yoo appears in a minor role as The Salesman, aka the man who recruits Gi-hun into Squid Game by playing a game of ddakji with him on the subway

What to watch next: Gong Yoo is a very successful actor in Korea who is also known internationally. The 42-year-old actor’s most well-known movie role is Train To Busan, in which he stars as the divorced father and businessman protagonist trying to escape the zombie apocalypse on a high-speed bullet train. His most well-known TV role is in the uber successful Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, one of the highest-rated dramas in Korean TV history. In it, he stars as a 939-year-old immortal goblin and protector of souls. Longtime K-drama stans, however, probably know Gong from his starring role in Coffee Prince, a romance about a woman pretending to be a girl in order to get work and a young food empire mogul, played by Gong.

Lee Byung-hun as The Front Man, aka In-ho

Squid Game character: Lee Byung-hun plays the Front Man, aka the masked man who runs the day-to-day operations of Squid Game. He lives in a fancy apartment within the game’s facility, and maintains contact with the game’s supervisors via a landline.

What to watch next: If you’re looking to see more of Lee Byung-hun’s face than Squid Game offers, then you have a lot of options. The 51-year-old actor and singer has been a part of the Korean entertainment industry for decades, and has been one of the most successful Korean actors in that time, with five films on the 50 highest-grossing domestic films in South Korea list: Joint Security Area; The Good, the Bad, the Weird; Masquerade; Inside Men; and Master.

Lee is the only Squid Game actor to have some substantial Hollywood credits on his filmography as well. American audiences may recognize him from his role as Storm Shadow in the G.I. Joe franchise; he has also appeared in Red 2, Terminator Genisys, and The Magnificent Seven. A member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, he was the first South Korean to present an Oscar at the Academy Awards.

Which Squid Game cast member were you the most impressed by? Let us know in the comments below…

The post Squid Game: Best of the Cast’s Shows and Movies to Watch appeared first on Den of Geek.

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iwillneverforgiveyou · 2 years

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Jang Hae Ryong Part 5

As days go by, all Ji Woo could do was think of him although she tries not too. It was tough not stop by his office to see him. He came back to work after a week of being sick. That was the last time she saw him. He texts and calls her, but she never texted or called him back. She did see a text from him saying that he ate her soup and that it was the best soup that he has ever had and that he told his wife about them. “Well that is good that she knows now,” she thought to herself. When she sees him in the corridor, she looks down as she pass him, but he looks at Ji Woo trying to get her attention. When he does get her attention, they only talked for a little then she told him that she has to go back to work. She wasn’t sure how long she will be angry with him. Ji Woo wanted him to learn his lesson about lying to her and earning her trust back.

One day, Hae Ryong was in his office doing paper work on a case. He wanted to focus on something instead of thinking of Ji Woo. She hasn’t texted or called him back which he understands. He will give her space unless he had to talk to her about work. He still lives at home with his wife and daughter. He had gone to his lawyer and told him what has been happening and that he needed to divorce his wife. He and his wife told their daughter about what is happening. She was sad and didn’t want their family to split up. “I know baby, but we are still going to be your parents, and I am not going to love you less,” he said, and his wife nodded. “That is also the same with me,” she said. Hae Ryong sighed as he put his pen down and looked over at a family picture that he put back on his desk. He had it in a drawer when he was with Ji Woo. He is still with her although they are taking a break right now. He hasn’t told her that they should, but he figured that they are on a break. Hae Ryong licked his lips and glanced at his phone. He reached for it then paused with his hand above his phone. He wanted to ask Ji Woo if they were still together or not. “Maybe I shouldn’t ask because she won’t reply,” he thought to himself. He sighed in frustration and put his hand down on his lap then leaned back in his chair as he thought about Ji Woo. “Uh…,” Hae Ryong said as he looked at his phone then slowly got up, grabbed his phone and left the office, “I need to get out of here.” He went to his assistant and nodded at him. “I’m going for a drive. Be back soon,” he said. His assistant nodded and watched him leave. Outside, he glanced around and saw Ji Woo’s car. He looked at it for a moment then got into his car that was right by the entrance and started the car. He pulled out of the parking lot and down the street. Inside the building by the entrance, Ji Woo saw Hae Ryong get in the car and leave. She sighed as she turned around then walked away.

The following week, Hae Ryong’s assistant talked to him about getting dinner with some of the co-workers after work, and he agreed. What he didn’t know is that Kang Ji Woo will be there, too, along with Park Shi Yeong. After 5 P.M., they went to a restaurant in their own cars. Ji Woo didn’t know that Hae Ryong would be there. She was surprised when he saw him with his assistant. She stopped in her tracks and glanced over at Park then at the other workers with them. Hae Ryong looked over and saw Ji Woo. He pressed his lips together then looked down. “Ah why is she here for? I am not complaining though. I miss seeing and being with her,” he thought to himself then looked back at Ji Woo, who was sitting down besides Park. Hae Ryong sat at the other end of the table next to another co-worker. Ji Woo smiled at her co-workers then glanced down the table at Hae Ryong and sighed. “If I knew would be here, I would have said no,” she thought to herself. Everyone ordered drinks and what they wanted to eat. A co-worker asked Hae Ryong how his family was doing. Hae Ryong nodded. “They are good,” he said. He didn’t want to tell them about him and his wife getting a divorce and why. He got out his phone and send a quick text to Ji Woo. “Hey, we need to talk after dinner.” He put his phone back in his pocket and glanced around. He laughed at something that a co-worker said. Ji Woo heard her phone and looked at it then sighed. She looked over at Hae Ryong, who glanced over at her. She nodded then put her phone away. Hae Ryong licked his lips then looked at the waitress coming with their drinks. He got his beer and drank it. Ji Woo drank her beer, too then looked over at Park and talked to him.

Everyone shared their food with each other. They were all laughing and having a good time. Ji Woo didn’t drink a lot. She had water for the rest of dinner. Hae Ryong drank 3 beers and that didn’t get him drunk. He glanced over at Ji Woo and saw her smiling and laughing which made him happy to see her happy. At 7:35 P.M., everyone was going home. Ji Woo said bye to Park and some other co-workers then walked over to Hae Ryong to see what he needed to talk about. She wasn’t that angry at him anymore. Hae Ryong said bye to his co-workers then looked over at Ji Woo. Once everyone was gone, it was only Ji Woo and Hae Ryong left. They were silent for a moment. Hae Ryong looked at Ji Woo and smiled. “Hey…how are you?” he asked. Ji Woo looked over at him. “I am doing good. How are you?” she asked. Hae Ryong nodded. “Same,” he said. “That is good,” she said. Hae Ryong saw she was wearing a white skirt and blouse with black heels. “You look nice,” he said. Ji Woo smiled. “Thank you,” she said and looked at his white button down shirt and black suit with black shoes, “You look great.” Hae Ryong licked his lips. “Thank you,” he said. Ji Woo glanced around the area and listen to the cars then looked over at Hae Ryong. “So…you needed to talk to me?” she asked. Hae Ryong looked at her and pressed his lips together. He took a deep breath and exhaled as he ran his fingers through his hair. “Yeah. I just wanted to tell you that I am divorcing my wife,” he said. Ji Woo was shocked. “You are? Is she okay with that?” she asked. “Yeah she is. We told Yoon Ji, and she was sad, but we told her that we are still her parents and will still love her,” Hae Ryong said. Ji Woo frowned. “Awe. I am sure she will be okay,” she said. Hae Ryong nodded. “Yeah. She is strong. Also… I was curious about us,” he said. Ji Woo looked at him and sighed. When she didn’t say anything, he sighed. “Are we still together or not?” he asked. Ji Woo bit her inner cheek as she listened to Hae Ryong. She still wants to be with him, but…can she trust him? She ran her fingers through her hair. “Well…I still want to be with you, but the thing is that…can I trust you again?” she asked. Hae Ryong raised his eyebrow. “Oh…you don’t trust me?” he asked. “Not after you lied to me about your family,” she said. Hae Ryong pressed his lips together and he looked down. He took a deep breath and exhaled. He closed his eyes for a moment then looked over at her. “Right. I am sorry about that. I have to gain your trust back,” Hae Ryong said. Ji Woo nodded. “Huh. Okay. I hope I can earn it soon. I miss you,” he said and walked closer to her. Ji Woo noticed and put her hand up, and he stopped. “Hae Ryong. I miss you, too, but we can’t be together right now. I need more time,” she said as she put her hand down. Hae Ryong sighed and hung his head then looked over at her. “Alright. I understand. Just know that I still love you,” he said. “I still love you,” Ji Woo said. He smiled a little then glanced over at his car and looked back at Ji Woo, “I am going to go now. Night. Drive safe.” Ji Woo nodded and bowed to him. “You, too,” she said. Hae Ryong bowed back then walked to his car. Ji Woo watched him for a minute then went to her car, got in and drove home.

After two weeks of working and being around each other, Ji Woo wasn’t angry at Hae Ryong anymore. She was getting lonely and wanted Hae Ryong to come to her house again. They started to talk again, and he told her that the divorce was over with and that they can be together if she still wanted too, which she does. He have given her space when she needed it. One a rainy night, Ji Woo was home. She beat the rain after work. She didn’t want to drive in the rain. She heard the thunder and lighting. She sometimes jumped at the sound of them. Ji Woo sat in the living room watching comedy on T.V. She had her phone besides her in case Hae Ryong calls. At 6:14 P.M., Ji Woo heard the buzzer at her front door. She looked over at that direction. “Hmm. Who would be out in this weather?” she asked herself then checked to see if she missed a text or call from Hae Ryong or anyone else. Nothing. “Buzz. Buzz.” Ji Woo took a deep breath and exhaled as she got up and walked over to the front door and cautiously looked through the peephole. There was someone right outside her door, but it was dark. She wasn’t sure if it was robber or murderer although they didn’t try to force their way in. Suddenly a lighting flash and Ji Woo’s heart skipped a beat as she smiled. “Oh, it’s Hae Ryong,” she thought to herself. Ji Woo unlocked the door and opened the door a little. Hae Ryong was standing to the side, so he won’t be hit by the door. He was in a green rain coat with the hood up. She saw that he had hair hanging down over his forehead. He was dripping wet and looking at her. “Hey,” he said. “Hey,” Ji Woo said back. Hae Ryong glanced around him then looked down at himself. He was cold and wanted to get inside. “Can I come in please?” he asked. Ji Woo looked at him for a moment then push the door open wider and moved away. He held the door as he went in then closed it behind him.

Ji Woo went to the living room and mute the sound on the T.V. Hae Ryong took his sneakers off then took his rain coat off and hung it on a hook by the door. He pushed his hair back from his forehead as he walked to the living room. Ji Woo looked at him and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “What are you doing here?” she asked. Hae Ryong took a deep breath and exhaled slowly and looked at Ji Woo. “I was in the area and decided to come by. I know I didn’t text or call, but I figured you would be okay with me stopping by,” he said, and Ji Woo sighed, “That is okay, right?” Ji Woo pressed her lips together then slowly. “Yeah it’s fine,” she said. Hae Ryong nodded then looked at the T.V. “What are you watching?” he asked. Ji Woo glanced at the T.V. then looked over at him. “Just a comedy show. Want to watch with me?” she asked. Hae Ryong nodded and Ji Woo nodded at the sofa then went to sit at the end of the sofa and turned the sound back on. Hae Ryong hesitated for a moment then went to the sofa and sat a little away from Ji Woo even though he wanted to sit close to her, but they haven’t been kissing, holding hands and all that romantic stuff yet, and he misses doing all that with her. He glanced over at Ji Woo and saw she was in her PJs already. He smiled as he looked back at the T.V. Ji Woo glanced over at Hae Ryong, who was in a tan shirt and a dark blue pants. He leaned back and lay his arm across the top of the sofa. Ji Woo looked back at the T.V. They were silent for a while as they watched the comedy show. Ji Woo couldn’t keep her eyes on the T.V. as her eyes keep going over to Hae Ryong, who had his eyes locked on the T.V. She bit her inner cheek and sat on her hands. When she had her eyes on the T.V. Hae Ryong glanced over at Ji Woo and noticed that she had her hands under her legs and smirked. “Maybe I can just scoot over a little,” he thought to himself then scooted over. Ji Woo noticed, but didn’t say anything or looked over. He was in the middle of the sofa now. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked at the T.V. Ji Woo smirked and looked over at him then put her hands back on her lap. She wanted to jump on him and kiss his lips, but she didn’t, so she asked about his daughter. “How is Yoon Ji?” she asked. He smiled at her. “She is good. Her mom is watching her while I am here,” Hae Ryong said. “Oh…wait why are you in the area anyway?” Ji Woo asked. “Visiting a friend,” he said. “In this weather?” Ji Woo asked. Suddenly there was thunder so loud that she jumped. Hae Ryong put a hand on her knee. “You okay?” he asked. She glanced down at his hand then over at him. “Yeah, I am,” she said. Hae Ryong patted her knee then took his hand away. “And yes, in this weather. I needed to talk to him face to face,” Hae Ryong said. “Okay,” she said and looked back at the T.V. Ji Woo glanced at her knee and smiled.

After a few episodes, Ji Woo sighed and looked at the time on her phone. 7:40 P.M. Hae Ryong yawned and looked over at Ji Woo. It was still raining, thundering and lighting. Ji Woo had jumped at a few, and he wanted to wrap his arms around her, but he held back. “I miss you and being with you,” Hae Ryong said. Ji Woo heard him and smiled. “Yeah. I miss you and being with you, too. Even though we are here together now,” she said. Hae Ryong pressed his lips together as he nodded. “But, I meant being together as boyfriend and girlfriend,” he said. Ji Woo bit her bottom lip and slowly got up. Hae Ryong watched her get up and go to the kitchen. Ji Woo looked into her sink as she thought about what he just said. “So he wants us to date again,” she thought to herself. He sat up on the sofa and ran his hand through his hair. “Should I have said that?” he asked himself then looked over at her. He got up from the sofa and slowly walked over to her. “I am sorry for saying that. I just wanted to let you know that I wanted to get back with you,” he slowly said. Ji Woo heard him and pressed her lips together. Hae Ryong stood behind her. “Do you want to get back with me?” he asked. Ji Woo slowly turned around and looked at him. “I said that I did and that I needed to trust you again,” she said. Hae Ryong put his arms up on each side of him. “Really?” he asked then sighed as he put his arms down, “How long will it take for you to trust me? What I had been telling you through text and vocal has been the truth.” Ji Woo nodded and crossed her arms in front of her chest as she leaned against the counter. Hae Ryong licked his lips and walked closer to her and put his hands on the counter having her in the middle, so she can’t go anywhere. Ji Woo raised her eyebrow and looked at each of his arms. “What are you doing?” she asked. He shrugged and smirked at her. “So…how long will it take? I want to know,” Hae Ryong said. Ji Woo closed her eyes for a moment as she thought about it. Hae Ryong looked at her lips and wanted to kiss her, but he didn’t step over line. She opened her eyes and looked at him. “I trust you a little,” she said. “That is good,” Hae Ryong said. Ji Woo smiled and put her hand on his arm. “Plus, I am lonely here and miss you being here,” she said. Hae Ryong smiled back. “I miss being here, too. If you want, I can stay over and text my ex-wife to tell her that I am staying over,” he said. Ji Woo licked her lips then nodded. “Is she still at your place?” she asked. “Yeah,” he said as he put his arms down and Ji Woo’s hand slid off. “Oh. Is she going to have the apartment?” she asked. Hae Ryong turned around and got his phone from his pocket. “No. She is staying with her parents as she looks for a place for herself. She is with Yoon Ji at the apartment because I told her that I needed to see my friend then you know the rest,” he said as he looked over at Ji Woo, who nodded. “Let me text her,” he said and went to the living room.

Ji Woo watched him go then got a bottle of water from the fridge. He sat down and texted his ex-wife. “I am going to stay over Ji Woo. Can you watch Yoon Ji for tonight?” Ji Woo went back to the living room and sat next to him. He smiled and looked over at her. “Waiting on a reply,” he said and laid back. Ji Woo got the remote and turned to another channel. “Want to watch another show or movie?” she asked as she laid back, too. Hae Ryong looked over at her and shrugged. “Maybe…a movie,” he said. “Okay,” Ji Woo said and looked for a movie to watch. Soon his ex-wife texted back. “Okay. I will watch her. Have a nice time with her.” He smiled and texted back. “Thank you. Tell Yoon Ji that I love her.” Hae Ryong put his phone down then put his arm around Ji Woo. “Is this okay?” he asked. “Yeah, it’s fine,” Ji Woo said. He smiled and looked at the T.V. Soon she found one that they can watch together. They rain stopped and went away along with the thunder and lighting. Ji Woo looked at Hae Ryong and smiled. She was happy that he was with her now. She put her head on his shoulder, and he looked over at her and smiled then put his head on top of her head.

#Jang Hae Ryong #fanfiction

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jentlemahae · 3 years

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Squid Game Was Not That Good And It’s Time We Talk About It (Article Review)

This review contains spoilers.

I am pretty sure that if you have a Netflix subscription and/or a working Internet connection, chances are you have heard about Squid Game at least once or twice in the last few weeks. Released this September, the 9-episode Korean Drama has taken over the whole world by a storm, as it is on its way to becoming the platform’s most popular show of all time in less than a month. Everyone has watched it, and everyone is utterly in love with it. Well, almost everyone.

Let me just preface this by saying that I actually enjoyed the show – the plot is enticing, the acting is fine, the scenery is great, and the script is okay. Overall, I found it genuinely good – just not the best, as everybody seems to think Squid Game is.

And I know what you are probably thinking – ‘There she goes, hating on it just because it’s mainstream!’. However, I can assure you I’m not one of those people who will hate on anything popular just because it is popular. Squid Game is simply Not That Good, and I think it’s about time someone has the balls to outrightly say it. Now, just buckle up as I’m going to tell you exactly why I think that…

(Those who have already seen the show may skip the following section.)

Squid Game – the gist

The series centers around a contest where 456 people play Korean children’s games on a remote island in order to win a cash prize of ₩45.6B (roughly, €33M). Win a game? Advance in the competition! Lose? You get brutally killed. The battle features contestants of various ages and with different backgrounds, who have only one thing in common – they are all in crushing debt. Thus, they’re willing to do whatever it takes to win the money.

The main protagonists of the show are miserable chronic gambler Seong Gi-Hun (Lee Jung-Jae), North Korean defector and pickpocket Kang Sae-Byeok (Jung Ho-Yeon), and disgraced businessman Cho Sang-Woo (Park Hae-Soo). However, there are plenty of memorable characters who manage to steal the show, such as Pakistani migrant Abdul Ali (Anupam Tripathi), elderly contestant Oh Il-Nam (O Yeong-Su), and police officer Hwang Jun-Ho (Wi Ha-Joon), who infiltrated the game to investigate the disappearance of his brother.

The players face a total of six games, which get increasingly brutal and deadly, bringing the number of participants to drop dramatically. All competitions are being documented and recorded for a small audience called ‘The VIPs’, wealthy Western men who enjoy watching people getting slaughtered for… some reason…

In the end, we’re down to just two contestants – Gi-Hun and Sang-Woo, as everyone else has kicked the bucket (with some help, of course) – who face each other in a match of the ‘Squid Game’. In a nutshell, Gi-Hun wins after Sang-Woo sacrifices himself, succumbing to his guilty conscience. Albeit becoming a billionaire, our protagonist doesn’t actually use the cash prize for a year (probably because he sees it as ‘blood money’), until he regains faith in humanity and decides to help take down The Game at the very last second of the show.

At face value, Squid Game is a gruesome splatter thriller, meant to hook you and keep you on the edge of your seat. However, the show is actually far more. It is a social commentary, which criticizes capitalism and highlights the wealth gap within society. The series is an allegory of how rich privileged people create situations where poor marginalized individuals are forced to commit heinous acts just to survive, and give them the illusion of choice, in order to convince them they are the sole responsible for their falling. Ergo, not exactly your lighthearted afternoon special.

The good, the bad… and the horrible

As I stated above, I think the show’s main idea is brilliant! It’s got thrill, a splash of gore in all the right places, and the underlying social commentary really makes you think. Besides, I love me some Hunger Games and some Battle Royale, so I definitely found the story intriguing and exciting. Nevertheless, every rose has its thorns…

The killer slow pace

First of all, we have to talk about the atrocious pacing of this show. Some scenes dragged on for so long and for no reason whatsoever, it made it tedious to watch more times than I can count. There were so many scenes in which the characters were talking back and forth about life and morality, which were probably meant to strengthen the viewers’ bond with the protagonists, but that was not successfully conveyed in my opinion.

Moreover, the slow pace completely killed the suspense element for me. The show was meant to fill me with angst and anxiety, but oftentimes I was just filled with boredom. It didn’t keep me on my toes, it just kept me on the edge of falling asleep (which is not something you want from this TV genre).

A series of unfortunate storylines

The core of the plot was (obviously) the game and the participants’ journey therein, but two other storylines unfolded as well. In the first few episodes, we learn how one of the contestants – a doctor – was working with some of the guards to smuggle organs from the already-killed players. In the other main sideline-plot, we follow detective Hwang Jun-Ho in his quest to find information about the vanishing of his brother, and gather evidence to take down The Game. Albeit being actually interesting stories to watch unfold, they left me with a big question mark – did I really need to see that? No, I did not.

Those storylines simply add nothing to the overarching plot of Squid Game, nor do they affect the outcome of the series in the slightest. The doctor gets killed just a few episodes in, and the guards with whom he consorted die shortly after as well. The detective manages to find the answers he was looking for and garner some evidence, but he eventually fails to send it to the authorities and gets murdered in the end. Impact made? Almost none whatsoever.

It did cross my mind that perhaps those storylines were included to help us get a glimpse of the guards’ life, or to allegorically showcase how even law enforcement is powerless against capitalism. But was it that hard to have them impact the finale somehow? No, it wasn’t, and that’s exactly what annoys me the most – and apparently, none of the writers figured it out. Thus, we are left with two useless storylines of which we viewers are supposed to make sense ourselves, since clearly nobody else did.

The mystery of the untwisted plot

Prior to watching the show, everyone around me was saying how much I was going to enjoy the plot twists. I was promised suspense, surprise, and intrigue. Well, I got none of that.

I saw the plot twists coming from miles away – am I just psychic? And the worst part was that I managed to anticipate what was going to happen not because it was foreshadowed, but because it was all so predictable. The detective’s brother is actually the Masked Dude? Wow, how shocking… The Old Man actually had something to do with the competition? Who would have thought… The protagonist refuses to kill his rival? Groundbreaking.

They were simply obvious twists – ones I would expect from a B-movie, not a serious thriller such as Squid Game. The ‘un-twistiness’ of the plot ruined the show’s suspense for me, because repeatedly being able to guess what was going to happen (and how it was going to happen) did not make me hold my breath at all.

Let’s talk about the ending

Now, I’d have plenty to say regarding the show’s finale (just ask my mom – she’s been listening to me rant for weeks): to sum up – I did not like it. I did not like that Gi-Hun won, I did not like that he won thanks to Sang-Woo killing himself, and I definitely did not like that he didn’t get on the damn plane. Why? Oh, I’m so glad you asked!

I found the ending frustrating and annoying, on top of it being completely out of tune with the true essence of the show. In a nutshell, Squid Game is about moral greyness – it displays how under capitalism, there is no room for a ‘black and white’ view of society, as everyone is bound to get their hands dirty to succeed. All the characters are morally grey – some are criminals even before joining the contest, some directly kill other participants, or somehow play a role in their demise.

Nonetheless, Gi-Hun (i.e., the winner) leans more towards the ‘white’ side on the spectrum, i.e. the good side. Throughout the game, he appears friendly and somewhat nice, as he usually tries to help other players. Yes, he has his flaws, but I think we can all agree he is one of the good guys. Thus, it makes sense for him to win, right? Wrong – at least in my opinion.

Squid Game has a grey shade – none of the protagonists are either downright ‘bad’ or ‘good’, they are all flawed and corrupted on some level, and their immorality is especially highlighted in The Game. Hence, the winner should have been a representation of such greyness, for the finale to be a true reflection of the series’ essence.

That is why I believe Sang-Woo (i.e., the disgraced businessman) would have been a better fit as the winner. He is the quintessential grey character – he is usually nice and devoted, though sometimes he lies and deceives for his own gain. Throughout the show, he is often shown struggling with an internal conflict between his mendacious behavior and his moral compass, as well as his desire to be good. Furthermore, he was a businessman until he fell victim to unfortunate investments, ergo he best represents capitalism and its devious ways. Whether you love him or hate him, it is undeniable that he’s the one who truly stands in the middle of the ‘good vs. bad’ spectrum – just like Squid Game itself.

Even if we accept Gi-Hun’s victory, the problems do not end. Sang-Woo killing himself to let the “good guy” win in the end seems like a bland and easy way to end things, bordering on the cliché. As does the actual finale of the show, where our hero doesn’t get on the plane, and turns around so he can stay and take down The Game. What the hell is up with that? Why does he think that he – a regular nobody – can defeat a bunch of billionaires who have lawyers up the wazoo, and can definitely make any charge go away just by snapping their fingers? Just go see your daughter and be a decent father for once, please!

Final thoughts

As I said in the beginning of this (long) rant – I actually enjoyed the show! I think the characterization is incredibly well-done, as every protagonist is so multidimensional and interesting in a different way. The acting is great (minus the white people…), and the overarching theme and the way it is portrayed through various metaphors is brilliant!

Overall, the show is great for what it is – enticing, yet not too complex. It tackles the universal struggle of social inequality – to which almost everyone can relate – but does so without going too much in depth or beyond past truisms. Apart from the brutal violence that’s rampant throughout the series and adds entertainment to the story, Squid Game is rather empty, as it doesn’t go much deeper than the superficial level in its value of a social commentary. But that’s probably the reason why it’s so popular – it’s easy to follow, which makes it easy to enjoy. Its metaphors are clearly displayed and don’t ask the audience to use their brains all that much in order to spot them, since all they do is confirm the public’s accepted ideals. If you look past the gruesome element, the series doesn’t really have hard pills to swallow, and it’s otherwise effortlessly digestible. Yes, it’s entertaining – but definitely nothing pioneering. It’s good – just not THAT good.

ily if u read the entire thing <3

#i had a lot of things to say!#anw if u red this im giving u a kiss ^_^

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binging-asian-dramas · 2 years

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Seo Yeong, My Daughter / My Daughter Seo Yeong. 7

Story: 8

Acting: 8

Chemistry: 10

Comparable to: ?

This is a long haul one. Fifty episodes long. Is it worth it? Well maybe sorta, it depends on if you’re a big family drama fan I would say yes. It’s a bit draggy and is very melodramatic at times. It was made in 2012 so some of the scenes feel a tiny bit dated too (can’t believe we’re in 2022 already ugh) I honestly mostly watched for Park Hae Jin who’s storyline (Lee Sang Woo) felt less melodramatic and more on the romcom side. 🤷‍♀️ This one is a mixed bag for me since I usually love family dramas.

#My Daughter Seo Yeong.#Seo Yeong My Daughter #kdrama #viki #kocowa #kbs world #chun ho jin #lee bo young #park hae jin #lee sang yoon #choi Yoon young #melodrama #family #love triangle #slight romance #drama

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dramapic · 4 years

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MASTERLIST

I update this list everytime I watch and review a show.

Disclaimer: These reviews are subjective and only reflect my opinions. There are no drama on that list that I’ve turned off and all are worthy of a watch.

Recs welcome!

#1 Crash landing on you

(사랑의 불시착)

Grade: A++

Genre: Modern, Star-Crossed lovers

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Son Ye-jin (who plays Yoon Se-ri) and Hyun Bin (Ri Jeong-hyeok) have amazing chemistry and every episode plays out like the chapters of an excellent fanfiction. Classic romantic tropes, humour, angst, action, CLOY has it all. Moreover, if you’ve never watched a Kdrama in your life, CLOY is a great starting point—not only will it introduce you to Korean culture but also to popular tropes and codes of the genre.

#2 Rookie historian Goo Hae-ryung

(신입사관 구해령)

Grade: A++

Genre: Historical, Age gap

Episodes: 20

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Delightful from end to end, with lots of humour and an engaging story. The romance between Goo Hae-ryung and himbo-prince Dowon will make your heart go soft, especially if you’re into reverse gender dynamics (she’s older and kisses him first *le gasp*)

#3 Memories of the Alhambra

(알함브라 궁전의 추억)

Grade: B+

Genre: Modern; Sci-fi; Fantasy

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: No

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Intriguing premise, great cast and tons of special effects but the romance between Jin-woo (Hyun Bin) and Hee-joo (Park Shin-hye) won't go down in history. On top of that, the ending is a bit wishy-washy in that annoying “maybe there’s more to come” kind of way. Give us a clear cut ending, damnit!

#4 Good doctor

(굿 닥터)

Grade: B-

Genre: Modern, Medical drama

Episodes: 20

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Good heart but the writing is really clumsy at times and the hospital politics don’t make an awful lot of sense. On the bright side, Joo Won is great in the role of Park Si-on.

Note: I haven’t watched the American remake so can’t compare.

#5 My love from the star/ You from the stars

(별에서 온 그대)

Grade: A

Genre: Modern, Sci-fi, fantasy, Star-Crossed lovers

Episodes: 21

Happy Ending: Yes-ish

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Jun Ji-hyun is absolutely stellar in the role of Cheon Seong-yi, a ditzy Hallyu* star whose career is going south while Kim Soo-hyun plays the emotionally closed-off alien to perfection. Lots of pinning, a dose of angst mixed with a pinch of wacky humor.

*Hallyu means “Korean wave” in Chinese and refers to the popularity and spreading of Korean pop-culture outside of Korea.

#6 Hwarang The Poet Warrior Youth

(화랑)

Grade: B

Genre: Historical, Coming of age, fake siblings who catch feels

Episodes: 20

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Cute boys and interesting lore rooted in true facts (the bone rank system and the real Hwarang, the “Flowering Knights” of the Silla kingdom) but the story drags. I guess I expected more bromance and frolicking and less angst. Lastly, the main girl starts off quirky and fun but they quickly transform her into a sobbing mess which becomes real annoying real fast.

#7 Love in the Moonlight / Moonlight Drawn by Clouds (구르미 그린 달빛)

Grade: A

Genre: Historical, Romance, Coming of age, Posing as the opposite sex

Episodes: 18

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

A classic tale of a girl raised as a boy who ends up in a situation where she needs to do her best to not blow her cover while catching feels (As someone raised on Versailles no bara and Ribbon no Kishi, it remains one of my favourite tropes)

Sweet romance and good characters. The fact that Crown prince Lee Yeong doesn't turn emo when he starts developing feelings for Eunuch Ra-on before discovering she's a girl is the cherry on top of the cake.

#8 Something in the rain

(밥 잘 사주는 예쁜 누나)

Grade: C

Genre: Modern

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes, but it still doesn't make you happy

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Wasted potential!

Great start but the characterization falls apart quickly and you end up wondering why the main characters keep sabotaging their lives. By the end, despite their reunion, you're left with the impression they've learned nothing and that their relationship is doomed to fall apart.

On top of it all, watching Jin-ah fight sexism in the workplace and gaining nothing is depressing af (I don’t need realism in my escapism, thank you very much).

Too bad because Son Ye-jin and Jung Hae-in look really good together and the acting is top-notch. My advice is to watch the first 8 episodes then make up your own ending in your head.

#9 Moon embracing the sun

(해를 품은 달)

Grade: B+

Genre: Historical,Star-Crossed lovers

Episodes: 22

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

A traditional historical drama with all the tropes that go with the genre + a hint of esoterism.

If you love ill-fated relationships, tragic love triangle, evil queens, and amnesia, this is the show for you. Beware, the interrogation/torture scenes are rather brutal.

#10 My sassy girl

(엽기적인 그녀)

Grade: B-

Genre: Historical, Rom-Com

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Cute and lighthearted but easily forgettable. Still worth a watch thanks to Joo Won & Oh Yeon-seo's chemistry.

#11 Coffee Prince

(커피프린스 1호점)

Grade: A

Genre: Modern, Posing as the opposite sex

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Solid story, great cast but be ready for a lot of bickering.

Yoon Eun-hye is a precious bean who manages to sell the story of Eun-chan, a struggling androgynous working-class girl who mistakenly gets hired by a rich guy to play his boyfriend, then becomes his employee, then falls for him while not correcting his assumptions about her gender. Opposite her, Gong Yoo (from Train to Busan fame) is 🥰🥰🥰

Sidenote: Despite Han-kyul's struggle to accept his feelings for Eun-chan, homosexuality isn't treated as a joke or a shameful thing. The one time he goes seek “medical help”, the doctor is depicted as an old, clueless idiot. And honestly, the story would work too if Eun-chan was a guy.

#12 My girlfriend is a Gumiho/My girlfriend is a Nine-tailed fox

(내 여자친구는 구미호)

Grade: B+

Genre: Modern; Fantasy

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Viki - Available on Netflix (FR) too

Campy and goofy. It does look a bit dated (it’s from 2010) and the story is a little predictable but Lee Seung-gi as Cha Dae-woong, an aspiring action film actor and Shin Min-ah as “Gu Mi-ho” the nine-tailed fox looking for a mate are super cute. The show is also a good introduction to Korean folklore.

#13 Goblin / Guardian: The Lonely and Great God / The Lonely and Great God – Goblin

(쓸쓸하고 찬란하神 – 도깨비)

Grade: A+

Genre: Modern, Historical, Fantasy, bromance

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes-ish

Watched on: Viki

Unpopular opinion but since I’m not into older guys, I wasn’t invested in the romance between Bride and Goblin until late in the series. I loved everything else though. The show has such a unique tone and atmosphere. It goes from super serious to goofy in no time. The cinematography is gorgeous (especially the historical sets) and you'll cry your eyes out.

#14 Healer

(힐러)

Grade: A

Genre: Modern

Episodes: 20

Happy Ending: Yes

If you're into toll broody guys and fearless smoll girls, you’ll love Healer. The story is great, the characters are great and the way Jung-hu (played by Ji Chang-wook) and Ji-an (Park Min-young) are horny for each other is peak drama! *chef kiss*

#15 Kangchi the beginning/Gu family book

(구가의 서)

Grade: B-

Genre: Historical, Fantasy

Episodes:

Happy Ending: No

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Engaging coming of age story of a half-human half-gumiho looking for his place in this world. If it wasn't for the wishy-washy ending it could have been the perfect mix of action fantasy and romance.

Special mention for Dam Yeo-wool (played by Suzie Bae) who is a female character who's allowed to be a bit of everything at the same time (strong, kick-ass, funny, cute, romantic)

#16 Queen for seven days

(7일의 왕비)

Grade: A

Genre: Historical, Romance, Villainous crush

Episodes: 20

Happy Ending: No

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

With that title don’t expect a HEA but there are plenty of sweet moments along the way to make you appreciate the journey.

Chae-kyung loves the Prince and the Prince loves Chae-kyung but the King wants to kill the Prince and Chae-kyung is loyal to the King but the King is a tyrant and everyone wants the Prince to take his throne. On top of that the King wants Chae-kyung. Big mess. Lots of feels.

The story is (very) loosely based on real-life Queen Dangyeong, which makes it even more poignant. I cried my eyes out at the end because I’m a big softy.

#17 Korean Odyssey

(화유기)

Grade: A-

Genre: Modern, Fantasy

Episodes: 20

Happy Ending: Kinda

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

The show (very loosely based on Journey to the West) has its faults including the wishy-washy ending and the fact that Jin Seon-mi/Sam-jang starts off as a doormat but I ended up liking the relationship developing between the assholish Monkey god and the naive human girl more than I expected.

The side characters are compelling, and the banter and bickering between the deities work really well. If you grew up with Dragon ball, you’ll have a blast trying to match-up the Japanese and Korean names of everyone without looking up Wikipedia.

Lastly, not something I imagined saying after seeing him in Gumiho and Gu family book but Lee Seung-gi as Son Oh-gong = BDE *fans herself* 🥵

#18 Strong Girl Bong-soon

(힘쎈여자 도봉순)

Grade: A-

Genre: Modern, Super-Heroine

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Trigger warning: Graphic depiction of violence against women

A++ super-heroine story, bad side characters

First, every girl should aspire to find a Min-hyuk in their life. Someone who'll love them because of their strength, and support them unconditionally. Someone who won't ask them to change or pretend to be somebody else.

Second, western media should learn that a super-heroine can HAVE IT ALL—the superpowers AND the love AND the family.

My only complaint with the show (and that's why I gave A- instead of A++) is the inclusion of many cringy side characters/situations that spoiled my overall enjoyment (see the caricatural flamboyant gay co-worker, Bong-soon’s mom hitting her dad, the mobsters...)

#19 The K2

(더 케이투)

Grade: B-

Genre: Modern, Political

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

The romance is bad and the political story far-fetched but Ji Chang-wook is 🔥🔥PEAK HOTTIE🔥🔥

That being said, I didn’t completely dislike the political intrigue and it was interesting to see the good guy working for the villains (sort of).

#20 Weightlifting fairy Kim Bok-joo

(역도요정 김복주)

Grade: A+

Genre: Modern, Coming of age

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Uplifting coming of age story and super sweet romance. Bok-joo (Lee Sung-kyung) & Joon-hyung (Nam Joo-hyuk) are precious children on top of being cutie-patooties. Bok-joo’s insecurities hit hard, especially if you’ve ever been outside the norm of beauty standards.

I liked how the show normalizes therapy and taking care of your mental health.

In one word…

SWAG!

#21 The scholar who walks the night

(밤을 걷는 선비)

Grade: B

Genre: Historical, Fantasy, Vampire, posing as the opposite sex

Episodes: 20

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Guilty pleasure.

Don’t ask me about the details of the main storyline, I’ve already forgotten most of it. Sometimes all you need is a show where a hundred-something years old good vampire with a sad backstory and the main girl who is thirsty for the good vampire are fighting a sexy evil vampire.

PS: Did I mention the sexy evil vampire?

#22 Romance is a bonus book

(로맨스는 별책부록)

Grade: A+

Genre: Modern, Friends to lovers

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Imagine reading a relaxing book under a cozy blanket while sipping hot cocoa. That’s how that series made me feel.

Everything is sweet and soft from the characters' fluffy jumpers to the soft palette of color used for the sets. People make books and love books. There’s a mystery but no unnecessary angst. If you need a break from everything, jump in that ship.

#23 Hotel Del Luna

(호텔 델루나)

Grade: A-

Genre: Modern

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Sorta

Watched on: Viki - Available on Netflix (FR) too

Interesting world-building and a good cast of side characters but the romance lacks a bit of oomph.

On the + side, the hotel sets are gorgeous and Man-wol's wardrobe is to kill for.

#24 Suspicious Partner

(수상한 파트너)

Grade: A-

Genre: Modern, Star-crossed lovers in an office

Episodes: 20

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Toll serious who hates criminal falls for smoll weirdo falsely accused of murder. A must watch for anyone in search of a quirky romance.

#25 Touch your heart

(진심이 닿다)

Grade: A

Genre: Modern

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Viki

Tooth rotting sweetness. The series is just a pretext to watch two good looking people (Lee Dong-wook and Yoo In-na) being nice and awkward around each other. What do you need more? 0

Note: If you watched Goblin you can also pretend it's a spin-off series about the reincarnations of Grim Reaper and Sunny. 💡

#26 Because this is my first life

(이번 생은 처음이라)

Grade: A

Genre: Modern, Fake marriage

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

The Fake Marriage AU you’re looking for, mixed with slices of modern, messy, complicated life.

The main storyline revolves around Ji-ho an assistant drama screenwriter who struggles to find her place within the patriarchal structure of Korean society, and Se-hee, a socially incompetent computer designer who only cares for his cat and his mortgage. The way they end up in a fake marriage as well as the development of their relationship feels organic and doesn’t rely too heavily on comedy like it’s often the case with that trope.

The show also follows the stories of Ji-ho’s friends, Su-ji and Ho-rang who have different aspirations in life—Su-ji’s goal is to become CEO while Ho-rang only cares about becoming a housewife. I loved that the show makes a point to not pit women against each other and advocate living your life the way YOU want rather than trying to follow societal expectations of what love, work and marriage should look like.

Also they have the cutest cat.

#27 What's wrong with Secretary Kim?

(김비서가 왜 그럴까 )

Grade: A-

Genre: Modern

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Viki

I wish Secretary Kim had more agency in certain situations but the romance develops well and the horny moments are caliente 🥵🔥

#28 Where your eyes linger

(너의 시선이 머무는 곳에)

Grade: A++

Genre: Modern, BL, Coming of age, Friends to lovers

Episodes: 8

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Viki

Bite-size BL gem to devour in one sitting.

Stellar acting from the two leads and the balance between fluff and angst is just right. There's no graphic violence that sometimes plagues yaoi and BL and the story is believable. I got emo remembering my first love.

#29 Live up to your name

(명불허전)

Grade: A-

Genre: Modern, Historical, Time travel, Star-crossed lovers

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Trigger warning for graphic depiction of violence

Big surprise. I was looking for a cheesy comedy but it was actually a thoughtful story about humanism. I even teared up a little.

Trigger warning for needles. They do some pretty impressive procedures with those acupuncture needles.

#30 W - Two Worlds Apart

(더블유)

Grade: A

Genre: Modern

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Imaginary men > Real men, especially when they're played by Lee Jong-suk. Nuf’ said.

Imaginary men > Real men, especially when they're played by Lee Jong-suk.

The silly premise hides a solid story that keeps you on your toes and I was suprised by the rollercoaster of emotions I went through.

“Option 3″

“That’s 4 fingers”

#31 Life

(라이프)

Grade: C

Genre: Modern

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Kinda

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Unless you want to learn how fucked up the private health sector is becoming in Korea, there's not much to gain watching this show.

The story starts off well though. The problem is that by the middle of the series the writers have dropped the main mystery (the circumstances surrounding the death of the director) to deliver an exposé on the political machinations of big corporations, and then shoehorn an explanation at the last minute (“it was all but a misunderstanding”). Very underwhelming.

The relationship between the two brothers played by Lee Dong-wook and Lee Kyu-hyung is the only bright spot.

#32 Pinocchio

(피노키오)

Grade: A-

Genre: Modern, Fake family members who catch feels

Episodes: 20

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

On paper, the story sounds a little crazy but it all comes together nicely.

Lee Jong-suk and Park Shin-hye have great chemistry and deliver a stellar performance as “uncle” and “niece” (not related by blood) who can’t fight the romantic feelings they harbor for one another. The main storyline has enough twists to keep you entertained and surprised.

My only complaint is that it drags a little. 16 episodes would have been enough.

#33 My Holo Love

(나 홀로 그대)

Grade: A

Genre: Modern, Sci-fi

Episodes: 12

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Fake men > Real men

Imagine a Black Mirror episode about a love triangle between a woman suffering from face blindness, an emotionally supportive AI boyfriend and the disenchanted creator of said AI, minus the nihilism. *chef kiss*

#34 Legend of the blue sea

(푸른 바다의 전설)

Grade: B++

Genre: Modern, Fantasy, Fairy tale, Star-crossed lovers

Episodes: 20

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Viki

Park Ji-eu (the writer) read the little mermaid and decided to give her a happy ending. Great chemistry between Lee Min-ho and Jun Ji-hyun but the spark is missing for me.

The antics of modern-day mermaid Shim Cheong are a little predictable and Joon-jae needs to be less of a control freak at times but the story remains enjoyable. I was pleasantly surprised to see Shim Cheong’s character grow, making the power imbalance between the clueless mermaid and the con-artist less pronounced by the end of the series.

The side characters are interesting but underused, and I wish Tae-oh was more developed. On the other hand, the Joseon area sets and costumes are absolutely gorgeous (Don’t tell anyone but Joseon!Lee Min-ho is hotter than Modern!Lee Min-ho 🥵)

#35 Tale of Arang / Arang and the Magistrate

(아랑사또전)

Grade: B

Genre: Historical, Fantasy,

Episodes: 20

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

One word: Campy.

Interesting lore but the pacing is a little off—there’s a lot of back and forth between the characters and the locations and the love triangle doesn't add much.

#36 My ID is Gangnam Beauty / Gangnam Beauty

(내 아이디는 강남미인)

Grade: A+

Genre: Modern, Coming of age

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

If you’ve ever been bullied for your looks, you’re gonna bawl your eyes out.

The show does a great job of calling out the unhealthy beauty standards imposed on Korean women but the topic is universal enough for the story to resonate with everyone. I love that you never see Mi-rae’s old face because it’s not our perception of her lack of beauty that matters but the fact she suffers greatly. Don’t you hate in western shows when they take a beautiful actress, give her a pair of glasses or a fat suit and call her ugly, making sure the audience feels shittier about themselves? Here, the writers concentrate on Mi-rae’s transformation and her coping with the consequences of her decision to do plastic surgery.

It’s also not a revenge fantasy where the ugly duckling suddenly becomes the most popular girl at school. Being a “Gangnam beauty” leads to a new form of suffering.

Romance-wise, it’s the slowest burn of slow burns because Mi-rae and Do Kyung-seok are the most socially awkward beans on the planet. I love them, Your Honor.

#37 Tale of Nokdu

(조선로코-녹두전)

Grade: A

Genre: Historical, Posing as the opposite sex

Episodes: 32 x 30mns

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Viki - Now available on Netflix (FR)

Fun and lighthearted all the way through.

The story of a guy who puts on a dress to investigate a village of widows could have gone very wrong but it was well handled. It’s refreshing to see the classic trope of posing as the opposite sex reversed and Jang Dong-yoon is never cringy when he’s pretending to be Lady Kim Nok-soon.

#38 Bride of Habaek / Bride of the Water God

(하백의 신부 2017)

Grade: B

Genre: Modern, Fantasy

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Content warning: Crime against fashion

Promising premise and lore (I'm interested in reading the original comics now) but the writing fails to deliver an epic romance and a cathartic ending. Moreover, the sets lack imagination (or money?) and in the end I failed to ever feel immersed in a fantasy world.

The unfortunate consequence of the clumsy writing is that the male characters who are meant to be arrogant/confident Gods (Habaek and By-ryeom) sound like they're negging their love interests more than wooing them, and the relationship between Mu-ra and By-ryeom particularly irked me.

#39 Strangers from Hell / Hell is other people

(타인은 지옥이다)

Grade: A+

Genre: Modern, Psychological Thriller

Episodes: 10

Happy Ending: Spoiler

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Content warning: Violence

What a departure from everything else in that list! Absolutely worth a watch if you enjoy thrillers and shows like Hannibal. If psychological horror isn’t your cup of tea though, you might give it a pass.

The storyline and the characters are a little cliché (it goes with the genre) but the cinematography and photography are fantastic. You can notice how the pension becomes more and more sinister throughout the series via the use of dark greens and browns and pale yellows, as opposed to the mundanity and coldness of the city (greys, and cold blues).

Last but not least, the acting is top-tiers. Im Siwan does a great job at portraying Jong-woo, an aspiring crime novelist who slowly loses his marbles but the true revelation for me is Lee Dong-wook. After seeing him so many times in roles where he plays awkward yet charming men who can barely express emotions, I was intrigued to see him take on the role of a serial killer, and holy cow, he's the perfect mix of sinister and alluring. Towards the end of the series, his character Moon-jo acts like a black-hole whenever he appears in a scene—a towering, dark presence who sucks the light out of the room (If he carries any of that darkness in the upcoming Tale of Gumiho, it’s gonna be *chef kiss*).

#40 Empress Ki

(기황후)

Grade: A

Genre: Historical, posing as the opposite sex

Episodes: 51

Happy Ending: From a certain point of view

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Trigger warning for violence against women (not graphic but implied)

51 episodes.

Fifty.One.Episodes.

That's a lot of episodes considering the story starts with the ending.

Did I enjoy this show? Yes, very much so. Do I think it's for everyone? Nope.

You'll enjoy Empress Ki if you're into old-school historical sagas or you wished Game of thrones had no gratuitous nudity and violence. If you’re looking for an historically accurate biography of the real empress Ki though, then look away because Empress Ki is basically a lengthy fanfiction trying to justify how the Goryeo native Seung-nyang married the wimpy Emperor of the Yuan dynasty whilst trying to portray her as loyal to her motherland and to her first love, the Crown Prince of Goryeo.

Personally, I didn’t care for the love triangle formed by Seung-nyang (Ha Ji-won), Wang-yoo (Joo Jin-mo) and Toghon Temür (Ji Chang-wook) but I liked the politics and the backstabbing. Also, contrary to GoT, the bad guys get their comeuppance at the end so it makes watching the side characters die less painful.

#41 Meow, the secret boy / Welcome

(어서와)

Grade: B-

Genre: Modern, Modern fantasy

Episodes: 24 x 35mns

Happy Ending: I guess

Watched on: Viki

How do I put it? It's not *terribad* but it's not *good* either.

I was super on board with the concept—if Lee Seung-gi can bang a nine-tailed fox in My girlfriend is a gumiho, I have zero issues with Sol ah, our heroine, falling in love with Hong-jo the cat-person after being dumped for no reason by Jae-sun her boyfriend—but it didn’t exactly develop that way, and as soon as they explained why Jae-sun had broken up with Sol-ah, the writers lost me because I like when things happen for a reason.

#42 Clean with a passion for now

(일단 뜨겁게 청소하라!!)

Grade: A-

Genre: Modern, Rom-Com

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Super zany and tropey but that’s why it works so well. The only reason I’m giving it a minus is because it’s trying to be woke but in the end there’s still a lot of unsolicited grabbing and some iffy remarks/pick-up lines said by every male characters (IRL that’s the kind of story that ends up with a restraining order and a lawsuit for sexual harassment).

#43 Mystic pop-up bar

(쌍갑포차)

Grade: A

Genre: Modern, Fantasy

Episodes: 12

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Trigger warning: Heavy themes (miscarriage, pregnancy, loss of a child, death of loved ones)

You know how the meme goes... Sometimes a family is a hot-tempered bar owner, a cursed kid and an ex-Afterlife-Police officer with a secret past.

It took me a few episodes to get into it, but once the characters were established it became really enjoyable.

The tone of the series leans toward wacky but the core of the story is actually pretty dark if you look into it. Every grudge they solve for their “clients” gives a clue about Wol-joo’s personal story and by the last episode I was crying my eyes out.

Last but not least, Wol-joo’s collection of modernized hanboks is *chef kiss*

#44 My secret Terrius

(내 뒤에 테리우스)

Grade: A

Genre: Modern, Action, Comedy, Bromance

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

An enjoyable action drama to watch with your family or your significant other.

Koreans prove that you can write a story about a black ops agent on the run who becomes a childminder without reeking of toxic masculinity. Contrary to American comedies where the manly-man-hero working undercover is incompetent and believes that working with children is a woman’s job and a waste of his manly-man talents until he has an epiphany of some sorts, Kim Bon (played by So Ji-sub) never once expresses discomfort to the idea of looking after two kids. In spite of his sober demeanor, he’s a caring and attentive person from the start and watching him gradually becoming a part of this spunky family while investigating a national security threat made my heart go awww.

Opposite him, fearless and resourceful mom Go Ae-rin (played Jung In-sun) brings a lot of energy, and the twins are absolutely adorable.

#45 Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo

(달의 연인 - 보보경심 려)

Grade: A--

Genre: Historical

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: No

Watched on: Random streaming site

Don’t get attached—Moon Lovers is the missing link between Empress Ki and Boys over flowers, but with a sad ending.

I did binge watch the series but there are some frustrating aspects to it that prevented me from giving a perfect score, notably the fact that Wang So remains possessive and demanding with Hae Soo throughout the years—for instance “You’re my person” is a romantic statement until it evolves into “You can never leave me.”

The other problem of the series is that Lee Ji-eun (UI) does cute and goofy really well, but she doesn’t have the emotional range needed to portray a character who goes through many heartbreaks and betrayals. As a result, Hae Soo appears a little fickle in her infatuations with the princes.

That being said if you’re a sucker for tragic romance and you believe that power corrupts even the purest of love, you’ll have a blast.

#46 Forest

(포레스트)

Grade: B++

Genre: Modern, Romance

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Viki

UST in the woods (Dat first kiss 🥵🥵🥵)

The characters and the story are a little cliché but who doesn’t love a story where the protagonists are clearly attracted to each other but can’t act on their desires because their moral values are opposite?

*slams fist*

San Hyeok is your typical heartless businessman who refuses to confront his childhood trauma, and Yeong Jae is a surgeon who suffers from panic attacks and cares too much about other people. They’re both good looking and fate brings them to a remote village in the middle of the forest where they have to share a house. Really, I wonder what’s gonna happen?

#47 100 Days My Prince / Hundred days husband

(백일의 낭군님)

Grade: B+

Genre: Historical

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Viki

Trigger warning: Important character death.

Cute and charming but also very annoying at times. Obviously, the story is tropey af (fake marriage doubled with amnesia, you can’t really beat that) but it also includes elements I’ve never seen in any other dramas like the fact that the Crown Princess is pregnant with another man’s child (le gasp!). The things that annoy me the most were the unnecessary flip-flopping of the heroine towards the end of the show for the sake of creating artificial drama (just let them be together FFS!) and the fact that the male characters take a lot of decisions for Yeon Hong-shim.

Romance wise, Do Kyung-soo and Nam Ji-hyun are really cute together but in the end I found myself more interested in the political intrigue and the side characters than the main romance because slow burn has its limit. In essence, it’s the perfect drama to watch with your conservative family because whilst the main couple is living under the same roof and is technically married they don’t get frisky.

#48 I Am Not A Robot (로봇이 아니야)

Grade: A++

Genre: Modern

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Angsty with a good pay-off.

With a premise like that, things could have gone wrong really quickly but the writers managed to write a story that isn’t a man wanting to fuck a robot because real women are scary so big kudos for them. Seeing Min-kyu celebrating his Roomba’s birthday because he has no other friends will instantly melt your heart and from that point on you’ll cheer for his recovery. The show has the right amount of angst without becoming a mess and they handle the big reveal very well, making sure to show how hurt both Min-kyu and Ji-ah are by the situation, without making you doubt that they can find each other again. The other strong point of the show is that it’s not just about romance, it’s also about friendship and learning to let other people in your life.

The acting is incredible to the point that by the end I wondered if Yoo Seung-ho and Chae Soo-bin were making out in front of my salad or if I was still watching the characters Min-kyu and Ji-ah being lovey dovey.

#49 Sungkyunkwan Scandal (성균관 스캔들)

Grade: A

Genre: Historical, Posing as the opposite gender

Episodes: 20

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Viki

Hana zakari no kimi tachi he with gats.

This show checks so many boxes when it comes to my favourite tropes story-wise and character-wise that I instantly fell in love with it. It might feel a little dated for a younger audience and it definitely suffers from the second male lead syndrome (who wants unseasoned boiled chicken when there are not just one but two juicy rotisserie chickens on the table next to you?!) but it’s still very much enjoyable. Also, they don’t shy away from using the word “homosexuality” and having one of the second lead confessing to having romantic feelings for his friend (I’ll take any scrap of bi-representation, okay?)

#50 It’s Okay to not be okay (사이코지만 괜찮아)

Grade: A

Genre: Modern

Episodes: 16

Happy Ending: Yes

Watched on: Netflix (FR)

Found family.

In spite of one ridiculous plot twist (that I was aware of when I started the show) this show has made me feel all the feelz. The three main actors all did a phenomenal job portraying their characters in all their complexity and fragility and I ended up crying so many cathartic tears in the second to last & the last episodes.The relationship between Sang-tae and Gang-tae is one of the best sibling relationships I’ve seen on-screen in a long time while the romance between Moon-yeong and Gang-tae blends perfectly elements of comedy and melodrama. Mental illness isn’t treated as something to be ashamed of, whilst showing that you can grow and recover from trauma and finding your own happiness.

PSA from my boyfriend, who dropped the show before the end:

The plot twist is so stupid that it takes away from the rest of the series. In my opinion it negated the positive portrayal of mental illness built up until then. They completely lost me.

^ We discussed a lot about it which is why I wanted to share his POV to balance my own review.

#51 coming soon

#k-drama #kdrama

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guiltymepleasures · 3 years

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[Series Review] SQUID GAME (2021)

8/10

*spoilers ahead because I have a lot of feels, okay?*

So I first knew about this a month before release, I think? I watched the trailer and thought it was interesting. Of course, I also thought it would be similar to As The Gods Will or Alice in Borderland (if you haven't watched those, try them too). Nevertheless, I turned on my Netflix notification and I watched it a few days after release. No, I didn't binge-watch it. More like 1-2 episodes per day.

Anyway.

*spoilers ahead, read at your own risk*

The premise of the show was nothing new but the execution was good. There were certainly tear-jerker moments, great suspense and cliffhangers. But the main thing I loved was the set design. Everything was so colorful and vivid. A breath of fresh air from all the dark (literally) movies I had to squint to see anything. The playful, childish but somehow eerie background music was also *chef's kiss*

I wasn't familiar with the cast but I think they did well individually and as an ensemble. My favorite character is Kang Sae Byeok (played by Jung Ho Yeon) primarily because she was the most observant and arguably the smartest (street smart not book smart like Sang Woo) among the players. And then we see her backstory and we see her reason for playing and I was sold. That's why one thing I didn't like about the show is how they had to get her mortally wounded right at the penultimate moment just to have the two guys go at it.

My second favorite character is Ali (played by Anupam Tripathi) because he was honest and kind. He represents the people who are still down on their luck no matter how nice they are. Life is unfair like that. Was he stupid? I would like to say he was too trusting (and Sang Woo seemed like a master manipulator anyway). He saved Gi Hun too, while Sang Woo tried to dispose of him as early as the Honeycomb game. I was neutral with Sang Woo until he did what he did.

Seong Gi Hun (played by Lee Jung Jae), our protagonist, represented people whose life had been topsy turvy all the way. He was simple-minded that was for sure. But he had a kind heart, I guess? I wasn't particularly attached to him but the show made sure to make us accept he was the main character. Nothing I could do about that. I did pity him during the scenes with his mom and Sang Woo's mom. I liked him when he took Sae Byeok's brother sorta under his wing (but leaving him in the care of Sangwoo's mom). But to be honest, his character fell flat to me.

Sang Woo, oh dear, Sang Woo (played by Park Hae Soo) . The first scene where we knew he embezzled stuff, I knew he was gonna be a... I really don’t know what to call it. Antagonist? Anti-hero? But yeah, I was suspicious since the beginning. The actor was great though, no complaints about him.

And then we go to 001 (played by Oh Yeong Su). I like grandpa characters but I think another thing that lessened the impact of the show to me, personally, was how I immediately thought him suspicious. The game, we've been led to believe, by Gi Hun's plight and the initial montage of the players getting duped to playing the game, was composed of players who were either neck-deep in debt or were facing some sort of trial (arrest for Sang Woo, death from gang shenanigans for that long-haired gangster), and anything in the spectrum. But 001 said he had a brain tumor, that he was terminal. And immediately, I thought of Jigsaw from the Saw franchise. And since then, I was looking really closely at all his scenes.

The police officer, Hwang Jun Ho (played by Wi Ha Joon), was okay. He was necessary as a plot device for viewers to learn about the game slowly. The loudmouth aunt and the gangster were both annoying characters.

Other things that felt open-ended to me were:

1. How Jun Ho's brother came to be the front man - maybe in S2?

2. Did Sang Woo's mother just accept that her son was abroad? Not even trying to contact him?

3. So Gi Hun chose to go back to the game instead of "finally being a dad to his daughter for once" as he declared before the last game on Sae Byeok’s deathbed?

#squid game #netflix #it was a great show #but not without faults #i will be waiting for s2 though

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haroldgross · 3 years

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New Post has been published on Harold Gross: The 5a.m. Critic

New Post has been published on http://literaryends.com/hgblog/squid-game/

Squid Game

[3 stars]

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you are at least aware of Squid Game. It has had even bigger viewership numbers than Bridgerton and has made the news and even a song on SNL. Everything everyone has said is true. It is hyperviolent. It is dark as hell. It is a bizarre lens and commentary on capitalism, life, and society. So no need to go there. I want to talk about what people aren’t mentioning.

To start off, I had spotted the show very early in its release, but the description/warning that pretty much just said that it was “hyperviolent” had me put it off. And then the hype grew and so I gave it a shot. The first episode was numbing and depressing. There were no obvious characters worth investing in, based on their actions. I knew who we were supposed to root for, but frankly couldn’t find a way in to do so. So I paused my return to the Korean spectacle.

And then the hype grew more. I just couldn’t grasp what was causing all the hoopla. So, I went back…and that’s where it all got interesting.

The storytelling in Hwang Dong-hyuk’s Squid Game is odd and non-linear. It starts us at a dark nadir for Lee Jung-jae as our main character. But then, with the second episode, we start getting backstory for him and the other players. None of it forgives their actions, but it provides context. And there are lots of stories to tell in this cast, though Park Hae-soo, Jung Hoyeon, and Oh Yeong-su have some of the more interesting. No one in this story is blameless and they all, essentially, accept the reality that they are where they are thanks to their own actions. But the context allows for some amount of empathy and, ultimately, some devastating moments. Unlike, say, Battle Royale, it definitely pays off with a purpose.

Add to all this the amazing production design and you have a show you can’t seem to look away from…unless of course you can’t handle hyper-violence, in which case what the heck are you doing watching this anyway? Ultimately, the story is allegorical and not a little absurd. It jumps the shark near the climax with the arrival of the VIPs for me, and the ending was neither overly surprising nor satisfying. It simply happened to allow for a second season. And, to be fair, I want to see what they do with it, even if I don’t forgive the character manipulation that brings us there.

This isn’t an easy show. It won’t raise your opinion of humanity. But, in a weird way, it leaves you feeling hopeful and with some faith in the individual. It will also put some questions in the back of your head that will rattle uncomfortably as you contemplate them in private. Should you watch it? Again, see hyperviolence. It is brutal at times. If you can’t deal with that, the answer is a flat: no. If you can tolerate the intensity and blood, yeah, it’s something you should see.

#3stars #craft #Dark #Dark Comedy #Early film #Foreign #gooey #Horror #Mystery #Suspense #violent #YourChoice #Streamed only #TV Review

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suranflower · 7 years

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Moon lovers. Scarlet Heart: Ryeo final thoughts (aka Layla you are too late for this train)

This is the last text post on this I promise I'll shut up now.

I have so many feelings... this will be all over the place but here I go.

About final episode

First of all, if Soo and So had met in a different time... Things would have truly worked. So needed healing, Soo needed maturing and loosing her innocence, but later she also needed healing and comprehension. That was something, that, due the circumstances (like the absolutely unhealthy environment they were in -this affected Soo the most- and their absolute dependence on each other -this affected So the most- or the fact pretty much everyone was making them feel guilty for just being together) they couldn't quite give each other. I would like to see the re-encounter in present day, but the ending was nice, in my opinion. I think So really needed to come to terms with himself in order to be with Soo, or with anyone else, romantically or not. By the ending and the way he let Baek Ah go, I'd say he was finally reaching that point.

I would have liked that he had let her go when she said she wanted to leave the palace, that she couldn't stand that life anymore. If she couldn't have escaped with Jung and would have stayed there forever with So as he pretended, she would have died. She would have died full of hatred, resentment and unhappiness. With Jung and her daughter, at least she had time for healing, for coming to terms with herself and start overcoming her traumas, a time for being happy, at peace, and remembering, but also forgetting.

Second, I'm mad at So for, apparently, treating his son so coldly and with so little love. It's not the kid's fault if his parents don't love -and to a certain point even hate- each other. Doesn't So understand that by doing that he'll only make it worse by raising a child that will become just like him? A walking trauma full of hate? That by leaving the kid only to his mother -like King Taejo did- he will become her toy, her particular monster like Yo was to Queen Yoo? Also, the epilogue-ish tells us that he was a wise king... But through his actions in the drama, I don't see it, to be honest. I see he progressed in the end, but he was generally driven by resentment, hate and his so called love for Hae Soo. He didn't think things coldly. He would often change his mind. He was emotionally and in his personal affairs, very unstable. And he did get rid of his cousins, nephews and the brothers that didn't directly support him.

Some of the things that happened in the drama in the political part of plot are very lacking and not credible, especially the later reign of Yo and what we saw of So's reign. The part involving the defeated kingdoms and princess Woo Hee was especially lacking the whole time. I feel her storyline and the later Eun/Soon Deok storylines didn't quite fit in, to be honest.

Also, I am firm in my opinion that, after all, the only person that truly loved Hae Soo, regardless everything, no matter what situation they were in, the only person that showed full support and was constantly there for her expecting literally nothing in exchange ever, was Jung, the 14th prince. Along with Baek Ah he was also the only one that never used her for reaching his means or justifying his own actions and ambitions. The fact that he raised her daughter as his own says a lot.

The ninth prince didn't have the terrible death I wanted and expected, but at least he died feeling guilty lol. But ok.

Also, while I understand the general hate for Yeong Hwa, I think she, too, had her motives and I think none of us, as viewers (and the show's writers to be honest), took the time to really understand her. She was not just a power hungry woman.

I think this is all, more or less. I just wanted to add that I really, really like Choi Ji Mong's character. It was very enigmatic, but also endearing and I would have liked to see more of him.

General opinion on the drama

Overall, it was a very nice watch, that was an emotional roller coaster.

The plot was addictive (I pointed out before how it was a little lacking at times, and the script itself however was a little... idk), the performances were good (some better than others, I'll talk more about this later), the cinematography was stunning (where did they film this? Because it's breathtaking, I'll save money and go on a trip there, for real), the makeup and dressing was 10/10, all characters were very well rounded and the soundtrack was very good (especially the espectacular instrumental. I found the constant use of the songs from the ost, especially three of them a little irritating, though all the songs were very good and I like a lot many of the artists involved) all together with a decent editing. I would have made last episode a little longer than the rest, to explain the ending better. The middle episodes (around 7 to 14) were the ones I'd say I enjoyed the most, while episode 1, and episodes 18 and 19 were the ones I liked the least.

I'd like to get deeper into the acting part because there were so many characters and most of them played major roles in the plot development.

I loved Hae Soo/Go HaJin, and how she progressed even though in the last couple episodes I felt something missing, I couldn't explain what exactly. I'll confess, IU is the main reason why I started watching this. I listened to her music while studying and found I really liked it and loved her lyrics, so I decided I would watch her actress face as well. IU's acting was generally very good, maybe a bit lacking at times though, but you can see that she really did put a lot of effort here. In the final episode her acting was especially good. I would have loved that they showed us more of Go Ha Jin before she time-traveled. For someone that got her heart broken and lost her best friend too, she doesn't even think about it twice.

Now Wang So. I have a bit of a love/hate realationship with him. I love how well constructed his character is and also his development. I could write a whole super long post about him. Overall I think he needed help, help to overcome all his traumas. I think he could be a really toxic person, but I also think he could have worked to be better in this sense. Whatever, I don't want to extend this too much so let's jump to the person portraying him. I absolutely in love with Lee Jun Ki. He did an A+ job, making such a complex character accessible, a person that could be terrifying and ruthless but also deeply human and fragile. I am willing to watch more of him. And he has a cute smile too.

Now, the rest of the princes. I'll admit both Baek Ah and Wang Jung own my heart (reasons explained above). I think both Nam Joo Hyuk and Ji Soo did decent jobs portraying them, though I like them better in other roles. Baekhyun did a good with his funny, childish and playful character, the lovely Wang Eun. We didn't see much of Wang Mu (who I liked, he was a good guy) and the 9th prince Wang Won (who I hated as said before). And yes, I didn't forget about these two: Wang Yo and Wang Wook. I think these are both very interesting characters, especially Yo. He is So's nemesis, counterpart, brother, but also they are in many senses exactly one and the same. I'd love to see more of his reign and how he survived. Hong Jong Hyun was great as the bad guy™. Kang Ha Neul delivered amazingly well, too, portraying the nice, apparently perfect 8th prince in the beginning and progressively going to the cold hearted Wook in the end. Like with IU, I felt his portrayal could have been better at times.

I think the rest of the royal family did great jobs and I loved the presence of both queens and king Taejo. I already expressed my feelings for Yeong Hwa. She is a character I liked but that I think was misunderstood by both the audience and even the writers. I'd add that, to be honest (and like I said I like her character and find her interesting) I didn't like Kang Han Na's portrayal.

With the rest of secondary characters, since they are so many (and I already spoke about Ji Mong) I'll say I loved all ladies in this show. Really. All of them. I am absolutely in love with Oh Soo Yeon and honestly, Woo Hee Jin is a babe who did an amazing job playing the part. Chae Ryung was the sweetest girl in the world,

Lady Hae deserved everything good and I loved the way Park Si Eun portrayed her. Park Soon Deok was amazing and Z.Hera has gained a place in my heart. Woo Hee was an amazing girl too, and a good character, but I felt she was so misplaced in the overall storyline... sometimes I felt her character was there only to be a love interest for Baek Ah or for showing Seohyun as an actress (she did a decent acting as well, it was just that her character was too out of place).

And this is all. It's over and I'm glad I took the time to watch this and laugh, and cry and fangirl with it. I hope if you watched it you enjoyed as much as I did and find in my words something to identify with or discuss with, and I hope if you didn't watch you do and don't read this because so many spoilers lol

#blabla #kdrama #moon lovers #scarlet heart #scarlet heart ryeo #review*#kinda #kdrama review #kdrama rec

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senlibangtaned · 7 years

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https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-345Xq5BlQM0_RJeDArdy-fCv-vjfN_q

1. To you (그대에게) by Shin Hae-chul (신해철)

2. Like the birds (새들처럼) by Byeon Jin-seop (변진섭)

3. Hand in hand by Koreana

4. Flying the deep night sky (깊은 밤을 날아서) by Lee Moon-se (이문세)

5. Korea by 少女隊

6. Damdadi (담다디) by Lee Sang-eun (이상은)

7. I want to cry (울고 싶어라) by Love and Peace (사랑과 평화)

8. From the land of morning (아침의 나라에서) by Kim Yeon-ja (김연자)

9. Don’t you worry (걱정 말아요 그대) by Lee Juck (이적, originally by Deulgukhwa)

10. Now I wish it was so (이젠 그랬으면 좋겠네) by Cho Yong-pil (조용필)

11. I shall love (사랑할꺼야) by Lee Sang-eun (이상은)

12. A feel good day (기분 좋은 날) by Kim Wan-seon (김완선)

13. Unknown world (미지의 세계) by Cho Yong-pil (조용필)

14. Young by Lee Sun-hee (이선희)

15. Apartment by Yoon Soo-il (윤수일)

16. Footloose by Kenny Loggins

17. TV Kindergarten theme (Here is a version of this children’s song)

18. Real Man (진짜 사나이)

19. Youth by Kim Feel & Kim Chang-wan

20. Don’t you worry by Deulgukhwa (들국화)

21. Hyehwa-dong by The Zoo (동물원)

22. Girl (소녀) by Lee Moon-se (이문세)

23. When tomorrow comes (내일이 찾아오면) by 오석준, 장필순, 박정운 (Oh Seok-june, Jang Pil-soon, Park Jeong-woon)

24. Everyday with you (매일 그대와) by Deulgukhwa (들국화)

25. Story of last night (어젯밤 이야기) by Firetruck (소방차)

26. I’ve fallen in love (나는 사랑에 빠졌어요) by Lee Sun-hee (이선희)

27. Emergency landing love (사랑의 불시착) by Park Nam-jung (박남정)

28. Nothing’s gonna change my love for you by George Benson

29. A chance encounter (어쩌다 마주친 그대) by Songgolmae (송골매)

30. When tomorrow comes (내일이 찾아오면) by 오석준, 장필순, 박정운 (Oh Seok-june, Jang Pil-soon, Park Jeong-woon)

31. Oh, baby all by Sonic Dream Collective

32. Debut de soiree by Nuit de folie

33. Wake me up before you go go by Wham

34. Inca dance by Cusco

35. Love is the only thing I can give you (네게 줄 수 있는 건 오직 사랑뿐) by Byeon Jin-seop (변진섭)

36. Our love (우리들의 사랑) by Yu Jae-ha (유재하)

37. Ice cream love by Im Byeong-su (임병수)

38. Wherever you stay (그대 발길 머무는 곳에) by Cho Yong-pil (조용필)

39. My neighborhood (동네) by Kim Hyeon-cheol (김현철)

40. Can’t help falling in love by UB40

41. Baekku (백구) by Yang Hui-eun

42. In the wilderness (광야에서: A well-known song associated with Korea’s democracy uprisings)

43. Dear lady (숙녀에게) by Byeon Jin-seop (변진섭)

44. Let’s study (공부합시다) by Yn Si-nae (윤시내)

45. The final countdown

46. MacGyver theme

47. Take on me by a-ha

48. Is it raining on the day you are leaving (그대 떠나는 날 비가 오는가) by Sanullim (산울림)

49. Girl (소녀) by Oh Hyeok (오혁)

50. First snow of the season coming (첫눈이 온다구요) by Lee Jeong-seok (이정석)

51. Merci Cherie by Frank Pourcel aka이종환의 별이 빛나는 밤에" 시그널 음악

52. On a day like that (그런날에는) by 어떤날 (Someday)

53. Delight (환희) by Chung Soo-ra (정수라)

54. Gypsy lady (집시 여인) by Lee chi-hyeon and the friends (이지현과 벗님들)

55. On an empty street (텅빈 거리에서) by 015B

56. Comrade (동지가: A song associated with Korea’s democracy uprisings)

57. St. Elmo’s Fire (Man in Motion)

58. I even loved the sorrow (그 아픔까지 사랑하거야) by Cho Jeong-hyeon (조정현)

59. 연극이 끝난 후 (After the play) by Sharp (샤프)

60. My girl by The Temptations

61. My old story (나의 옛날 이야기) by Cho Deok-bae (조덕배)

62. Alleyway (골목길) by Sinchon Blues

63. Jingle bell by Shim Hyeong-rae (심형래)

64. Feliz navidad by Boney M

65. A snowy night (눈 오는 밤) by Cho Ha-moon (조하문)

66. To you (그대에게) by Infinite Orbit (무한궤도)

67. Together (함께) by Pak Gwang-hyeong and Kim Gun-mo (박광현 & 김건모)

68. Glow worm (개똥벌레) by 신형원

69. Father and I (아버지와 나) by N.EX.T

70. With a big laughter (한바탕 웃음으로) by Lee Sun-hee (이선희)

71. When the world in front of is ending (우리 앞에 세상이 끝나갈 때) by Infinite Orbit (무한궤도)

72. A sparrow’s day (참새의 하루) by Song Chang-sik (송창식)

73. It was pain for me (그 이유가 내겐 아픔이었네) Lee Ji-yeon (이지연)

74. For the coming time (예정된 시간을 위하여) by Jang Deok (장덕)

75. La Bamba by Los Lobos

76. Donna by Los Lobos

77. Take My Breath Away by Berlin

78. Sun boy Esteban animation theme Kim Guk-hwan (김국환)

79. After love (사랑한 후에) by Jeon In-gwon 전인권

80. The scent of purple (보라빛 향기) by Kang Soo-ji (강수지)

81. My love by my side (내 사랑 내 곁에) by Kim Hyun-sik (김현식)

82. It’s only love (사랑일 뿐야) by Kim Min-woo (김민우)

83. Happiness (행복) by Lee Soo-man (이수만)

84. You, I always (나 항상 그대를) by Lee Sun-hee (이선희)

85. Thinking of you (널 그리며) by Pak Nam-jeong (박남정)

86. Though you are smiling like a doll (그대는 인형처럼 웃고 있지만) by Min Hae-gyeong

87. Going together (동행) by Choi Seong-su (최성수)

88. Comrades: Almost a Love Story by Teresa Teng

89. Regret (아쉬움) by Sinchon Blues

90. Candle party (촛불잔치) by Lee Jae-seong (이재성)

91. Red sunset glow (붉은 노을) by Lee Moon-se (이문세)

92. Love is the only thing I could give you (네게 줄 수 있는 건 오직 사랑뿐) by December

93. Wind, please stop (바람아 멈추어다오) by Lee Ji-yeon (이지연)

94. Reality by Richard Sanderson

95. The one who pulls at my heartstrings (얄미운 사람) by Kim Ji-ae

96. Conflict (갈등) by Lee Sun-hee (이선희)

97. Scented memories (향기로운 추억) by Pak Hak-gi (박학기)

98. Memories of summer day (여름날의 추억) by Lee Jeong-seok (이정석)

99. The boarder (하숙생) by Choi Hee-jun (최희준)

100. Love is like the rain outside the window (사랑은 창밖에 빗물 같아요) by Yang Su-gyeong

101. All things of the world by Songgolmae (송골매)

102. Due to a reason called love (사랑이라는 이유로) by Kim Gwang-seok (김광석)

103. Gonna fly now (Theme from Rocky)

104. Magic princess Minky

105. Love love love (사랑 사랑 사랑) by Kim Hyun-sik (김현식)

106. The scent of purple (보라빛 향기) by Wable

107. A love that hurt too much wasn’t a love (너무 아픈 사랑은 사랑이 아니었음을) by Kim Gwang-seok (김광석)

108. Dear whom knows my ache (내 아픔 아시는 당신께) by Cho Ha-mun (조하문)

109. Let this night once more (이 밤을 다시 한번) by Cho Ha-mun (조하문)

110. How deep is your love by Bee Gees

111. Der Letzte Walzer by The Schlagerflowers

112. Donna Donna by Joan Baez

113. Right here waiting by Richard Marx

114. The path hidden away (가리워진 길) by Yu Jae-ha (유재하)

115. What, already? (아니 벌��) by Sanullim (산울림)

116. Ode to Gwanghwamun (광화문 연가) by Lee Moon-se (이문세)

117. It’s too late (너무 늦었잖아요) by Byeon Jin-seop (변진섭)

118. Balloons (풍선) by Five fingers (다섯 손가락)

119. Unrequited love (홀로된 사랑) by Yeoun (여운)

120. Love like a lonely picture (슬픈 그림같은 사랑) by Lee Sang-u (이상우)

121. A poem for a poem’s sake (시를 위한 시) by Lee Moon-se (이문세)

122. Standing in the shade of a tree (가로수 그늘 아래 서면) by Lee Moon-se (이문세)

123. You call it love by Karoline Kruger

124. Gloomy letter (우울한 편지) by Yu Jae-ha (유재하)

125. Sunset glow (저녁놀) by Jeon Yeong-rok (전영록)

126. Together (함께) by Noel (노을)

127. Youth (청춘) by Sanullim (산울림)

128. Daddy’s golden age (아빠의 청춘) by Oh Gi-taek (오기택)

129. To you once again (너에게로 또다시) by Byeon Jin-seop

130. Please, don’t look so sad (슬픈 표정 하지 말아요) by Shin Hae-chul (신해철)

131. It had to be you by Harry Connick Jr.

132. Farewell story (이별 이야기) by Lee Moon-se & Go Eun-hui (이문세 & 고은희)

133. If you come into my heart (그대 내 맘에 들어오면은) by Cho Deok-bae (조덕배)

134. Song of ssireum (씨름의 노래) by Kim Yeon-ja (김연자)

135. Can’t take my eyes off you by Morten Harket

136. Wild Thing by The Troggs

137. Man is a nuisance to woman (남자를 여자를 귀찮게 해) by Mun Ju-ran (문주란)

138. 노을 (Sunset glow – this is a children’s song that every Korean knows. There must be so many recordings of this song.)

139. Even if that day I remember comes (기억 날 그날이 와도) by Hong Seong-min (홍성민)

140. A dreamy world (꿈결같은 세상) by Song Si-hyeon (송시현)

141. Even if I write my poem in tears (눈물로 시를 써도) by Lee Seung-hwan (이승환)

142. The meaning of you (너의 의미) by Sanullim

143. Everyday with you (매일 그대와) by Sojin

144. Conversation of love (사랑의 대화) by Lee Jeong-seop & Cho Gap-gyeong (이정섭 & 조갑경)

145. Like an Indian doll (인디안 인형처럼) by Nami (나미)

146. Sad fate (슬픈 인연) by Nami (나미)

147. A mesmerizing confession (황홀한 고백) by Yun Su-il (윤수일)

148. Love is like the glass (사랑은 유리같은 것) by Won Jun-hui (원준희)

149. Women who smile are all pretty (웃는 여잔 다 이뻐) by Kim Seong-ho (김성호)

150. My prerogative by Bobby Brown

151. Time of my life from Dirty Dancing

152. Evergreen by Susan Jacks

153. I just called to say I love you by Stevie Wonder

154. Wish you were by my side for eternity (언제나 그대 내 곁에) by Kim Hyeon-sik (김현식)

155. Dear DJ (DJ에게) by Yun Si-nae (윤시내)

156. A guitar and a penny (기타 하나 동전 한닢) by Lee Jae-seong (이재성)

157. The stars are setting (별이 진다네) by Yeohaeng Sketch (여행 스케치)

158. The love story of a girl (어느 소녀의 사랑 이야기) by Min Hae-gyeong (민해경)

159. No such thing as farewell (이별이란 없는 거야) by Choi Seong-won (최성원)

160. Let’s twist again by Chubby Checke

161. In dreams (꿈에) by Cho Deok-bae (조덕배)

162. As time goes by (세월이 가면) by Choi Ho-seop (최호섭)

163. As time goes by (세월이 가면) by Kihyun

164. 신인류의 사랑 (Love of a new generation) by 015B

165. Graduation (졸업) by Exhibit (전람회)

166. 너만을 느끼며 by The Blue

167. Farewell for my sake (날 위한 이별) by Kim Hye-rim (김혜림)

168. While you weren’t with me (너 없는 동안) by Kim Won-jun (김원준)

169. Empty heart (텅빈 마음) by Lee Seung-hwan (이승환)

170. For a peace of mind (휴식을 위하여) by Jang Cheol-woong (장철웅)

171. Please don’t leave me (날 떠나지마) by Park Jin-young (박진영)

172. Behind you (너의 뒤에서) by Park Jin-young (박진영)

173. Come to me again (그대 내게 다시) by Byeon Jin-seop (변진섭)

174. Don’t leave me in sorrow any more (더 이상 내게 아픔을 남기지마) by Ha Su-bin (하수빈)

175. 기다린 날도 지워질 날도 by Lee Seung-hwan

176. 세상에 뿌려진 사랑만큼 by Lee Seung-hwan

177. When love moves past us (사랑이 지나가면) by Lee Moon-se (이문세)

178. Empty heart (텅빈 마음) by Lee Seung-hwan (이승환)

179. Even if that day I remember comes (기억 날 그날이 와도) by NC.A

180. Friends forever (영원한 친구) by Nami (나미)

181. Some kind of waiting (어떤 기다림) by Kim Gun-mo (김건모)

182. Let us break the plates too (우리도 접씨를 깨뜨리자) by Kim Guk-hwan (김국환)

183. For lovers in struggle (힘겨워하는 연인들을 위하여) by NEXT

184. For lovers just starting (시작되는 연인들을 위해) by Lee Won-jin (이원진)

185. Where the wind blows from (바람이 불어오는 곳) by Kim Gwang-seok (김광석)

186. Reflection of me in my heart (내 마음에 비친 내 모습) by Yu Jae-ha (유재하)

187. The more I love (사랑할수록) by Resurrection (부활)

188. Why, you (너는 왜) by Cheolli and Miae (철이와 미애)

189. The person who makes you happy (행복을 주는 사람) by Haebaragi (해바라기)

190. Miracle (기적) by Kim Dong-ryul and Lee So-eun (김동률 and 이소은)

191. Bingle bingle (빙글 빙글) by Nami (나미

192. Holding on to the end of this night (이 밤의 끝을 잡고) by Solid

193. Only the longing piles on (그리움만 쌓이네) by No Young-sim (노영심)

194. 奔向未來日子 (분향미래일자) by Leslie Cheung

195. Departure (출발) by Someday (어떤 날)

196. The dance of rhythm inside (리듬 속의 그 춤을) by Kim Wan-sun (김완선)

197. Merci Cherie by Frank Pourcel

198. Hyehwa-dong (혜화동) by Park Boram (박보람)

#reply 1988 all songs #reply 1988 ost #reply 1988 full songs

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