[DRAMA REVIEW] FALLING FOR INNOCENCE

BY : FATMA CHINGU THE K-DRAMA ADDICT

Falling For Innocence (Sunjeonge Banhada)

Episode : 16

Starring : Jung Kyung Ho & Kim So Hyeon

My Rating : 3.0 stars

First of all…… IT’S BEEN A LONG TIME!!!!!

Being a company worker is sucking all my energy and writing is the last thing I wanna do at the end of the day. So that’s why I have been “missing” from this blog… But today I got a sudden urge to write! Thank god for that!

So without further due… let’s begin!

THE STORY LINE

Introducing our bad boy…. James Kang aka Kang Min Ho. This Kang Min Ho fella is the infamous “Corporate Serial Killer” who works for Gold Partner, an investment company as the merger & acquisition consultant. But his ultimate objective is to avenge for his uncle misdeeds on his parents when his uncle stole the company 25 years back. Smells like a typical morning drama…

And our leading lady is Elsa! (Just kidding)

She is the Head Secretary of Hermia (I don’t know this position really existed) and served the President (Kang Min Ho’s uncle) directly. Well I am puzzled by her introduction in this drama but later I found out that she was actually dressing up as Elsa for the President’s son school festivities. That’s a dedication. But maybe TOO dedicated.

She is engaged to her long-time boyfriend, Detective Ma Dong Wook. He seemed to love her so much.. so much that he described himself as the person who orbits around her. Like a sun and earth.

So what’s the turning point? How on earth this two people ended up liking each other when one of them is in a steady relationship?

One thing that you need to bear in mind. In drama land, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.

Our Kang Min-ho turns out to have a heart condition and needs a heart transplant ASAP. Without a new heart, he is estimated to live for another one month. He already given up the hope for a miracle to happen and worked his ass off to see the end of Hermia and his uncle.

However…… the magic happens. Thanks to the drama fairy he miraculously gets a heart and all the illness are gone for good. He is good as new. But can you guess where the heart comes from? Yes, its from Soon-jung fiance’ who was hit by a car and died on the same day Min-ho was sent to the hospital.

The drama logic people.

The heart must be from HER FIANCE’ not from some other random strangers. Random is not applicable here. It has to be related somewhere. The drama logic. So predictable.

The heart now is in Min-ho. When he wakes up, he experiencing some changes in himself. Suddenly he starts behaving like Soon-jung’s fiance’…

And the best thing is he finds himself falling for Soon-jung. That puzzles him since he hated her so much before (she is the daughter of his uncle’s former manager who betrayed his father).

His doctor explained to him that these symptoms might be from the cellular memory which happens only to a few patients that undergone transplant procedure. He refused to acknowledge his affection for Soon-jung when its only the “after-effects” of the surgery. But our doctor asked him to embrace that and said;-

Amen to that.

So that’s how the love story officially starts. But where is the love triangle? That is where this guy comes in…

Another rule in drama land… the second male lead needs to be as miserable as possible.

By the way his name is Lee Joon Hee and he is the legal director at Hermia. He’s been crushing on Soon-jung since they started become friends 25 years ago but he’s missing the chance because Dong wook has a dip on her first. Our poor Joon-hee was hopeful that Soon-jung would finally come to him after Dong wook’s death. However, his wish was crushed and burned to the ground when Min-ho came along (loaded with Dong-wook heart and love for Soon-jung) thus he vows to make himself the next leading man in Soo-jung life..

Yada yada yada~

Well the plot operated mainly on the cause of death of Dong-wook. Moments before Dong-wook’s death haunted Min-ho in his dream one night after another. Hence he attempted to untie the mystery with the help of Dong-wook’s junior who happened to be Soon-jung’s bff. Together they are Peter Pan and Wendy (since Dong-wook often refers himself as the “Peter Pan” of the police force).
     

That’s deep. Someone inside of you…. 

Back to the story….

As the story progress, a few people surfaces as the potential murderer from the ex-worker who involved in impure ingredient scandal (that almost caused Hermia to go bankrupt) to Joon-hee’s dad to our second lead, Joon-hee…. and the murderer is I’M NOT TELLING!

But well my synopsis has been pretty elaborate so you could guess who is the perpetrator…

So I should end here… Now lets move to my thoughts on the story shall we?

MY THOUGHTS ON THE DRAMA

Lemme just say I totally adore Min-ho omo omo omo~

I swear he makes a cute man-child. Not in a cringe-worthy style but hit-your-head-to-the-wall-because-he’s-too-cute reaction. Butterflies everywhere.

 OMO OMO OMO

 

 I totally can feel you from across the screen… oh the FEELS

Well his character is the highlight of this drama. Post-operation of course. So technically my favorite character in this story is Ma Dong Wook since his heart has affected Min-ho’s behaviour ever since the transplant. He is more or less a virtual identity who coexisted with Min-ho. Ouh that’s too scientific for an explanation.

Nonetheless, its the feels that count.

Plot-wise I go to say that the story is not new, its been done before for instance the drama Summer Scent starring Song Seung Hoo and Son Yejin also has the same theme (celullar memory). Also I think that the concept of chaebol story/romance is overused as of late, this drama included. I skipped the “corporate” scenes because I feel that there is nothing interesting to watch there.

The murder mystery part of the story also feel lacking to me. Halfway through I find myself fed up with the turnaround way of the writer wants to reveal the murderer. For god sake, its freaking predictable!! Hence,I do not bother to watch those scenes.

Romance~

Well this one made up for everything. Her hesitance towards Min-ho at the beginning is the right thing to do since she just recently lost her fiance’. So I have no complain on the push-and-pull pattern in the romance story.

Min-ho on the other hand is totally adorable in every phase. But for me the “in-denial” phase is the most entertaining.  This is one example:

The doctor was like, “Gotcha!”

Therefore in conclusion, this is an okay drama for me. Maybe I’ll only re-watch the drama again but only those that have Min-ho in it.

Okay, till the next drama!!!!!

[DRAMA REVIEW] IT’S OKAY, THAT’S LOVE

BY: MAERTAI FATMA (the avid drama fan)

Episodes: 16 (Finished airing)

My Rating 

5 out of 5 stars (the ultimate durian)

Casts

[credit to source]

 Thoughts

How do I begin to express my satisfaction for this drama? The casts are superb, the story is fresh and even the soundtracks are tasteful enough for me to keep repeating them all day long! In short I’M IN LOVE.

I watched a few Noh Hee-kyung’s (the writer) drama before (That Winter the Wind Blows, Padam Padam) but they are not my cup of tea because the stories are too heavy for me to handle as her style of storytelling are more towards raw human sentiments and blunt expression of life. Those are good (excellent, in fact) traits for a drama but to be frank I watch drama as an escapism so I prefer shallow romance drama rather than complicated slash deep kind of story. But for this drama, I made an exception.

To be frank I am motivated to watch it mainly because of Do Kyungsoo (fangirl alert). Who is he? Anyone who followed me on Twitter would know that I am obsessed about this fella and his idol group, EXO. Some of my friends actually unfollowed me because of that. *laughs*

[credit to source]

Isn’t he the cutest guy on earth? (Note: This is a rhetorical question)

More than that I am glad I am watched this drama since the story transcends my expectation greatly and I was able to relate to the characters in the most humanely way possible. It transformed the stigma of mental illness into a heartwarming tale about people. The perfect description: DISCOVERY OF LIFE

 Anyway back to the story…..

 

The two main characters, Jang Jae-yul (famous novelist/Radio DJ) and Ji Hae Soo (Psychiatrist) met for the first time during as a talk show’s guest for the episode featuring Jang Jae-yul latest fiction on characters with psychiatric condition and the two got into a hot debate about the “inner psycho” in every individuals from the perspective of a psychiatrist and a novelist. The crowd goes back and forth as they pointed out their arguments.But above all, Ji Hae-Soo has caught Jang Jae-yul attention (he’s a sapiosexual I guess) but she dismissed him coldly. Well she’s dating someone so its only right to reject. (though I would leave anyone for Jo In-Sung)

Nevertheless, there is one person who always love him… Han Kang-Woo  *screams*

Gang woo is Jae-yul’s ultimate fanboy and an aspiring novelist. They met three years back when Jae-yul was attacked by his brother, Jang Jae-bom, who was recently released from the jail (he was sentenced for the murder of their abusive step father). As both of them share the same background i.e. come from a poor family with abusive father, Jae-yul doted on Gang-woo. Lets just say they share a great bromance.

His real brother, Jae-bom on the other hand was sent back into the jail after the attack. He is bitter towards Jae-yul for the reason that Jae-yul testified against him 11 years ago when it was Jae-yul who stabbed their step father. Talk about grunge.

Jae-yul afterwards moved into the share house where Hae-soo, Jong Dong-min (Hae Soo’s senior) and Park Soo-Kwang (suffers from Tourette’s syndrome and works at the cafe downstairs) live. Hae-soo protested for him living in the house but her efforts ended up in vain as it turns out Jae-yul is their landlord. In the end she (forced to) accepts him being in their house. It was never quiet as they bicker at every chance their eyes met. Hae-soo and Jae-yul’s bickering (till loving) scenes never bore me since it realizes into a (very) sensual chemistry. Meow~

Both of them became closer after Hee-soo’s tragic breakup with her boyfriend who cheated on her with his junior. The reason? Cause his anaconda (pun intended) couldn’t get into her panties even after 300 days of dating. Men and their lust. Predictable.

Soon after that, its Jae-yul who gets into her pants. Mr. Ex-Boyfriend IN YOUR FACE!

 {credit to source}

However his approach was not sinister. Instead it was sweet as he witnessed her moment of  vulnerability which has validated Jae-yul’s love towards her. Their physical intimacy becomes an illustration of Hae-soo’s leap of faith into a venture that she has been afraid to take all her life. From then on, Jae-yul has transformed into the most romantic boyfriend anyone could ever have..

 So where the heck is the conflict?

Turns out Jae-yul is schizophrenic due to the distress following the tragedy of his stepfather who have been killed by his mother (he kept this as a secret and put the blame on his hyung instead). His defence mechanism has eventually eat him alive as his mind created a non-existent person, our cute Gang Woo. So basically his condition makes him living a fantasy in real world and its a concern since this illness would eventually ends as a suicide.

Jae-yul is laughing by himself while in his head he imagined that he runs with Gang Woo.. 😦

Hee-soo surprisingly chosen to stay beside him despite her family objection. She chosen Jae-yul over her own self-interest thus it is evident that Hee-soo has deep affection towards him. Oh how beautiful!!!

Personally its hard for me to watch Hee-soo clenched her fist trying to refrain herself from getting close to Jae-yul since her presence makes his illness worse. Its heartbreaking really /wipes tears/

Why I love this drama?

Simple. Its a fresh story with abundance of characters that warms me inside. The chemistry between the leads and supporting roles makes this drama satisfying and enjoyable.

It has open my mind on the issue of mental health which has been sidelined by the stigma “all mental patients are crazy people” and it occurred to me that everyone should take this seriously as much as other types of illness.

The cinematography is strikingly similar to “That Winter the Wind Blows” which used so much close-ups in their scenes but why complain when Jo In-sung is filling your whole screen? Fret not!

In conclusion, this drama has achieved its objective to break the misconception of mental illness besides successfully created another OTP (One True Pairing) with wonderful chemistry and beautiful scenes together.

Now I am looking forward to Noh Hee-kyung’s project.

[DRAMA REVIEW] ANGEL EYES

By: Maertai Fatma (Chingu) —-> still can’t move on from BBJX

Casts:

Goo Hye-sun as Yoon Soo-wan

Nam Ji-hyeon as young Soo-wan

Lee Sang-Yon as Park Dong-joo / Dylan Park

Kang Haneul as young Dong-joo

Episodes:

20 (Completed)

My ratings: 

4 out of 5 stars

Quick recap of the story:

The drama revolves on the theme of an unforgettable first love.

Yoon Soo-wan lost her sight in an accident which killed her mother and Park Dong-joo’s father, a firefighter that attempted to save her mother but ended in vain. Ever since the accident her father has distanced himself from Soo-wan because she reminded him about her mother. So she is pretty much alone through the time she was growing up. Dong-joo in his teenage years has been an exemplary son, top student in his school and also helps his mother earning for the family since the death of his father years before. Every morning he would deliver porridge to houses around the neighborhood. Soo-wan who practiced her lines for her part-time job in the observatory every morning has caught his attention. He could even recite the lines by heart and of course he has a crush on her.

They actually met for the first time when Dong-joo’s class came to the observatory for a field trip. He was excited to find her there and tried to approach her a couple of times but was ignored completely. He was oblivious to the fact that she is blind since she walks around without a walking stick and took her actions as being not interested. The poor lad was heartbroken but later he bumped on her outside of her house during his morning delivery and discovered her handicap. Seeing that he definitely made up his mind to pursue her.

He tried to expose her to new things in life.Though at the start she relents and told him that he would never understand her since he could see (and he tries to be “blind” by walking around in blinds) but later he was able to convince her that his intention to befriend her is true.

Soo-wan was later introduced to his family and they embraced her warmly. Its fascinating to see how the relationship between Soo-wan and Dong-joo’s mother is developing so quickly. She even calls her Omma (Mother in Korean) though they are not related by blood. Dong-joo’s mother was then injured after been hit by a car early in the morning and she told Dong-joo to give her eyes to Soo-wan in case anything happens, since she knew how much Soo-wan wishes to regain her sight again. Unfortunately, Dong-joo’s mother died due to lethal injection (someone does not want her to expose the identity of the driver who hit her) and Soo-wan got herself a donor. Little she knew that it was her Omma. So the title of the drama I believed refers to Dong-joo’s mother.

Dong-joo was not able to stay until Soo-wan wakes up after her surgery because he needed to go to US for his sister’s treatment. He did left his address but Soo-wan’s father hide it. Why would he do that? Before he tried to “killed” Dong-joo’s mother by removing her oxygen mask for a brief seconds knowing that she wanted to donor her corneas to his daughter. So he felt guilty and blamed himself for her death thus explained him trying to keep Soo-wan away from Dong-joo in any way possible since Soo-wan was so attached to his family.

Soo-wan regained her sights but finds Dong-joo missing. Her father on the other hand found Dong-joo in US and by chance Dong-joo and Soo-wan’s father met each other. Dong-joo looks up to him as a doctor who tried to revive his mother after she coded. Both of them unexpectedly developed affection for each other as a father and son. Dong-joo becomes a doctor thanks to Soo-wan’s father.

12 years later Dong-joo, now known as Dylan Park, returned to Korea just to see Soo-wan again and hoping that their love hasn’t died just yet. However, 12 years is a long time for someone to wait and Soo-wan turned out to be engaged to another man (the neurosurgeon worked in the same hospital as Dong-joo). He was devastated at first but then realized that he just couldn’t do without her. Soo-wan on the other hand took a while to realize that he is Dong-joo because she never really know how he looks like. Dong-joo’s persistence to rekindle their first love has brought them together.

The story reached its climax when Soo-wan discovered that her father attempted to kill Dong-joo’s mother for her sake. No matter how much love both of them have that is the bitter truth that makes Soo-wan gave up on her relationship with Dong-joo. She has so much anger towards her father and blamed him for everything that happens. But blood is thicker than water. No matter how much she hates her father in the end she forgives him and acknowledged that his action was only motivated by her father’s love for her.

Sadly her father died of heart complications. Soo-wan lost her sight again as a result of psychological trauma after her father’s passing. Dong-joo as a faithful lover, stayed by her side and tried his best to nurse her to health. Dealing with depressed person is a tough job but nevertheless Dong-joo sticks by her side night and day. She was finally cured but afterwards decided that both of them should move on without each other.

In the end, Dong-joo being the persistent boyfriend finally get Soo-wan to give up and their love story finally found their happy ending. YAY!

My thoughts on the Leads

Before I watched this drama, I read a lot of fans are shipping the main couple and many have praised Go-Hye sun’s performance as Soo-wan. For me I am most excited for Kim Ha-neul as the young Dong-joo because he is one of my favourite young actors. He was so charismatic in Monstar and The Heirs but my oh my he looks horrendous in this drama. His hair makes him looks like a dork and this dork ain’t cute. He looks super ugly.

The younger versions of the leads are exceptional and makes me want to watch them more and more. Their portrayal of two teens in love are so adorable. I squeals in excitements during their romantic moments. Oh how I love them together.

As for the grown up version, I would like to highlight on Go-Hye sun’s performance. Frankly I have so much prejudice against her and I almost want to ditch this drama off my to-watch list when I saw her name on it. Well good things comes when we are not expecting them. Soo-wan’s character demanded so much from her, ranging from a happy-go-lucky girl to a depressed woman. I give her credit for this plus her kissing scenes with Lee Sang-yoon are swoon-worthy. No more only-touching-lips kinda kiss which is too mild for a couple who are passionately in love and are in their early 30s.

Our male lead, Lee Sang-yoon is my crush thanks to his cute pair of dimples. I first watched him in “The Goddess of Fire” where he acted as the Crown Prince (1st Lead) but in the end he looks like he’s the third wheel. In this drama however he is all the way the 1st lead and I am more than happy to see him as a (tenacious) man in love with his first love.

More than a love story

This drama seems to have a deep message on family and love in general. What makes me love this story is this drama has branched out to put the spotlight on parental love. Both leads have parents who love them the most and it is apparent through their decisions. I have to admit I do have soft spots for parental love. Moreover, this drama also taught that we do not need to be blood related to become a family. Soo-wan and Dong-joo’s mother, Dong-joo and Soo-wan’s father both have bonded and able to love unconditionally. Most of the drama fans would focused on the love story between the two leads but personally I think their parents’ unconditional love have become a major part of the story which I really appreciate.

Why not 5 stars

Well the story has loopholes here and there.

Why would Soo-wan leave a perfect fiance for her first love whom she has not meet for 12 years? Its true that first love is unforgettable but logically it would only remained as memories. But maybe they never really ended their relationships in the first place therefore the flame still there(?). Well a person’s feelings is an enigma. No logical answer would suffice.

Secondly, the supporting casts have too little contribution to the development of the story. Well they are only the supporting acts but the plot is too focused on the leads hence shadowed the stories of other people in the drama. I would like for the villain to have more story rather than pooping out at the very last minute. The guilt was put on Soo-wan’s father for too long it becomes too much to bear (as an audience it kills me since I know he’s not the killer).

Lastly, the second lead is too pathetic because in the end he lost the girl and also his mom (she’s the one injecting the fatal dose to kill Dong Joo’s mom). It turns out that he was the one who hit Dong Joo’s mother but his mom has covered out for him and convinced him that the woman he ran onto is perfectly fine. I mean he’s a sweetheart so he does not deserved this kind of ending. Give him some love juseyyo!!

So as a conclusion, Angel Eyes is a good watch and I definitely recommend this drama for Kdrama lovers out there. Till next time! I leave with this memes (taken from this drama):

[DRAMA REVIEW] <3 Emergency Couple <3

BY: FATMA CHINGU

Rating : A Sweet 4/5 stars… 

This 20-episodes drama has ended a couple weeks back but it would not leave me. How I miss my weekends waiting for new episodes to come out and when they finally out I’ll be all giddy and have my snacks and drinks ready for another enjoyable ride and entertaining story of a divorced couple rekindling their romance amidst of the hectic ER.

The premise revolves around broken marriage/bitter relationship between the leads which draws me into watching this drama.Especially when this drama is the follow-up of the ever successful Reply 1994, making the expectation so much higher .It’s a romantic comedy but like all k-drama I’ve watched for the past years, it would not be a complete set without a few depressing episodes that dry your tear ducts and emptied a box of tissue just to wipe my snorts.

Let’s do a quick recap shall we?

When your family disapproves your relationships, what do you do?

ELOPE

and run in the middle of busy streets to have everyone taking pictures of you in your wedding dress.

After a year of marriage…

Due to unstable income and continuous pressure from the families, they succumbed to stress and pressure hence ended their marriage…. 

But it seemed like their path crosses once again… as interns in the same hospital.

The hate still lingers…

but somehow the love never left

 and the lovers accepted each other as they are…

 and when they woke up the next morning…

men-boong~

In short, this is a cute drama. The kind that makes your endorphin gushing out throughout your system.

Here are the pictures & gifs of my picks of favourite moments in the drama..

 Oh Jin Hee woke up beside Chief Gook because Oh Chang Min left her in the male on call room after she     ended up drunk.. Hilarious  (credit to owner)

 The most sensual CPR ever

click this——->http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LabdGEBgSg

 

 Mission: Seduce Oh Chang Min (credit to MissMongji@tumblr)

                                     

 

and teasing Oh Chang Min with the sexy night dress.. LOL (credit to owners)

  

  

Oh Chang Min’s cute parade (credit to owners)

      

       

               

 The boob poke.. aiyoo so naughty (credit to owner)

 The back hugs..Feelssss (credit to owners)

 

The Cameos

Gary of Leesang (also her Monday Boyfriend)

(credit to owner)

Narsha of Brown Eyed Girls (credit to gianthelove@tumblr)

            

  

  

 

This is Choi Jin Hyuk’s first lead role. *seal clap*

I’ve grown tired from watching him sitting on the sidelines instead of gracing the stage as the lead man. He was amazing in Gu Family Book playing the tormented supernatural being who fathered Lee Seung Gi—- like a legit-demonic-sexy -not aging- charming-charismatic lover boy that have lead man qualities all over his gorgeous self.

The Heirs was a huge disappointment to me because his character only have a little exposure and development that shadowed his charms. Or maybe I just hated the story. Well to be frank The Heirs is not my cup of tea. Not even Lee Minho could make me love it.

Plus, his character in this drama is different from his previous project. Acting alongside Song Jihyo, I have faith that both of em makes a good pair. And my intuition proven to be correct,they were picture perfect and leave a tasteful aftertaste.

So I wanna end my post with this:-