Drama Short: Que Sera Sera (2007) Review

Grade: A 

What it’s about

Four people—two poor and two rich—couple and uncouple in the most hurtful ways you can imagine.

First impression

Is that a faint whiff of Cruel Intentions I detect at your pulse points, you strange, saucy little drama?

Final verdict

How is it that this dark gem of a show isn’t on more top 10 lists? I love it, at least partially because it’s so refreshing to watch a drama that doesn’t rely on an evil character to drive the plot. Instead, this show relies on the ultimate evil: human nature, and all its jealous, greedy, unholy desires. A rare bird, indeed.  

Stray thoughts

Episode 9: Dear Han Eun Soo: The correct answer in this scenario is “If you loved me, you would never, ever have done what you just did.” Cordially, Amanda

Added to top 10.

Drama Short: Rooftop Prince (2012) Review

Grade: C+

What it’s about
A stuffy, self-important Joseon-era prince and his entourage time travel to modern-day Korea and try to solve the mystery of his beloved princess’ murder. While living with a modern-day girl, they become embroiled in the corporate intrigues of the family company belonging to the prince’s contemporary reincarnation.

First impression
Fun sageuk mystery meets...standard-issue chaebol/poor girl romance. Sigh. Are there really no other plots available, dear Kdrama overlords, especially given the spiffy time-travel raw materials you had to work with?

Final verdict

Saddled with a weirdly unsatisfying ending, this lighthearted romantic comedy is occasionally cute but overall tiresomely average. 

Random thoughts
• The jury’s still out: Park Yoochun, total babe or E.T. lookalike?

• Do Koreans actually hang giant pictures of themselves above their beds? That’s bizarre—although I guess I have no right to judge. I, like all good little Catholic girls, grew up with a sculpture of a crucified guy in a loincloth hanging above my bed.

• At first I thought I was going to hate the Joseon Larry, Moe, and Curly who make up three-quarters of this F4 grouping, but now I totally love them and their goofy clapping.

• Okay. I’ve never been very good at geography, but riddle me this: he fell off a boat off the coast of New York City, and somehow ended up in the landlocked city of Chicago, 900 miles to the west. Did he float up the Eerie Canal? Was the St. Lawrence Seaway involved somehow? UPDATE: In a later episode it’s mentioned that they were sailing on a lake, not the ocean. Which presumably means they drove 13 hours or so upstate to sail on Lake Michigan, rather than just heading to the ocean. Sounds like a great idea.

Drama Short: Dal Ja’s Spring (2007) Review

Grade: A

First impression

Whimsical and winning. Remind me again why I've put off watching this charmer for so long? Oh. That's right...12 Mountain Dew commercials per episode at Daily Motion. Dear DramaFever: Please carry more older shows!

Final verdict

I originally sought out this show because Dramabeans ranked it above Coffee Prince in their 2007 year-end recap. I thought: Better than Coffee Prince? Surely you jest? Ultimately, Dal Ja’s Spring doesn’t quite live up to that billing for me (what could, after all?), but it’s nonetheless my favorite straight-up Kdrama romantic comedy. Wonderful in all its particulars, this is the humane, effervescent story of not only the female lead, but also the people whose lives intertwine with hers. Never throughout the drama’s 22 episodes does the plot fail to please, and it treats every delightfully quirky character with respect, from no-nonesense bosses to romantic rivals to crazy mother-in-laws. At the heart of Dal Ja’s Spring are a smart-but-flawed female lead that it’s impossible not to love, a hero who’s just the right mix of strong and silent and cuddly, and a number of lighthearted contrasting side narratives. Sweet, funny, and indomitably whimsical, Dal Ja’s Spring is part romance, part workplace comedy, part family drama, and part grown-up coming-of-age story. With a distinctively fabulous signature look and some of the most infectious theme music ever, this light-as-air confection manages to satisfy on almost every level.

Stray thoughts 

• Dal Ja has done the unthinkable: It has made me care as much about the office politics as I care about the romance. Who knew such a thing was possible?

• I love that this show features so much illustration (see above). I’m not sure how I feel about the sullen (but admittedly elegant) corpse girls hanging at Dal Ja's office, but it’s a lovely touch that each episode ends with a tease: the following episode’s opening illustration, which sums up its theme.

• Out of all the dramas I’ve seen, Dal Ja’s glamorous ragamuffin wardrobe is probably my favorite. I’d wear any of it....if it could be magically enlarged to approximately three times its current size. (Engorio!)

• I hereby declare that all future Kdramas are required to include at least one sageuk interlude, like the delightfully silly ones seen throughout Dal Ja.

• In America, we have an entire relationship phase that never appears in Kdramas: Making out. They always go from first kiss right to full sex, which seems unfortunate—especially for innocents like Dal Ja, who (charmingly) needs to be coached on her first kiss at 33.

• Episode 2: That scream you just heard? Why yes, it was me recognizing waffle Sun Ki from Coffee Prince as the shop boy. Along with Choi Han Gyul’s grandmother, that makes two Coffee Prince actors in the space of two episodes. Clearly, this is the show for me.

• Episode 9: Way to make the most of a gratuitous shower scene—put it at the very end of an episode so you can replay it at the start of the next one. Well played, Dal Ja!

Drama Short: Time between Dog and Wolf (2007) Review

Grade: A+ 


What it’s about
A young intelligence officer deals with inner demons and tries to find his place in the world while seeking revenge for the killing of his mother, which he witnessed as a child. 


First impression
As of episode 5, I loved this drama so much I wanted to have its puppies. Nonstop thrills, a great love triangle, and amazing production values make it feel like a long, excellently made movie. Just what I needed after some drama disappointments.

Final verdict

As a big fan of romantic comedy, I rarely wander over into the action genre. I’m so glad I did here, though—I literally can’t believe how good this show is. Thrilling, action packed, and filled with sophisticated storytelling and complex, nuanced characters, it still manages to include a compelling love story. Loved it. (Read full review here.)

Added to top 10.

Drama Short: Queen In-hyun’s Man (2012) Review

Grade: A
What it’s about
A magical talisman saves the life of a Confucian scholar by sending him to the modern world, where he meets a no-name actress who happens to be playing his queen in a sageuk. Time travel hijinks and love ensue.

Initial impression
The female lead is 72 different kinds of stupid. As expected, though, I couldn’t love Ji Hyun Woo more as the male lead. He looks like an alien giant in the sageuk garb, but whatever role he’s playing always seems to be drawing on this deep well of inner stillness. I like his vibe so much, it makes me wax quasi-poetic, even. As of episode 3 this show needs fewer ditz escapades and more couple time.

Final verdict

A beautifully shot, wonderfully acted, high-tension romance with a time-travel twist. Good, but for me at least frustratingly far from great: The harebrained female lead’s rehabilitation was too little and too late; the time traveler’s acclimation to the modern world was disingenuously angst (and awe) free, and the talisman McGuffin didn’t hold water the way it should have. On the other hand, it is a compelling love story between two well-matched actors with great chemistry, and the script’s approach to romance is refreshingly novel for a Kdrama—there are no piggyback rides here, just thoughtful conversations. It’s actually shocking how unique this relationship is, considering that it’s built from the interaction between two standard drama tropes: the strong, silent Joseon scholar and the air-headed modern career girl.  (Read more about the end or see my full drama review for this show.) 

Stray thoughts
• Why is it that this drama, which is close to perfect, offends my inner feminist more than other shows with even more painful gender politics? If the female lead says she’s stupid one more time, I’m out.

• Is it wrong that my favorite thing about this show is watching the Korean commercials nobody bothered to cut out in the middle? It’s a fun drama, but I’m really in it for the shots of Lee Sun Gyun from Coffee Prince drinking his iced tea or whatever.

• Do they have the plan B pill in Korea? Because if so, you should have totally added it to your shopping list. Would the child of a time traveler like the male lead live if its dad died or skipped time? We saw what happened to the dead guy from an earlier episode—he (and his blood) turned to dust and disappeared. What would happen if half their baby’s genetic material aged 300 years in a second?

• Episode 15: Well, I guess I now really know all the highs and lows of being a Kdrama fanatic—including refreshing a website every fifteen minutes for two hours, hoping against hope that the subtitles I’m waiting for will suddenly appear.

Drama Short: Baby-Faced Beauty (2011) Review

Grade: B-


What it’s about
A cheerful, hardworking 34-year-old woman pretends to be 25 to take an entry-level job in a clothing manufacturer’s design department. As she proves herself professionally, she must decide between two men—her younger coworker and dreamy boss—while keeping her age a secret.

First impression
This show is mostly meh. Harmless and potentially amusing, there’s cute chemistry with the romantic lead, but as of episode 4 my world was not being rocked.

Final verdict

I take back most of the nasty things I thought (and said) about this drama. After the first few cartoony episodes, the female lead got way less stupid and much more interesting. The show itself was a harmlessly fun noona romance, something the world could definitely use more of.

Stray thoughts
• 
I think the title must have been mistranslated—Baby-brained Beauty feels like a more natural fit.


• Only in Asia would it be such a huge, scandalous deal that someone is lying about their age. In
egalitarian America, people would probably think it was a weird thing to do but not take it personally: How we treat each other around the office has more to do with our professional status than our ages.

Drama Short: What Planet Are You From? (2006) Review

Grade: C+


What it’s about
A tragic male lead (the stunningly handsome Kim Rae Won) discovers a poor girl from the countryside who looks exactly like his dead fiancée. As she moves to the city and takes a job at his movie production company, birth secrets are revealed and their lives completely intertwine. The lovers decide to be together whatever the cost.

First impression
Call me crazy, but this is just the type of drama I love: It has its feet on the ground and its head in the stars. (Sometimes literally.)

Final verdict

A strong beginning, a realistic vibe, and two of the handsomest male leads imaginable couldn’t save this drama from its makjangy, listless second half. Repetitive plotting, unlikable characters, and a surfeit of teary meltdowns didn’t help the situation, either. None of the relationships felt particularly believable or worth rooting for. (Well. Except the male lead’s relationship with his fiancée in the first episode, which was tender and sweet. Weirdly, the dead girl and her lookalike were played by the same actress, but the two characters had completely different kinds of chemistry with the male lead. The dead fiancée seemed to belong with him, while the younger girl always felt more like a kid sister than a lover.)  

Stray thoughts
• It’s nice to see My Lovely Sam Soon’s lovely Jung Ryeo-won again—that girl can sure speak some English, unlike most other Korean actors.

• Well, that’s one question answered: I will never travel to Korea, because based on episode two they have giant spiders there. I don’t do countries with giant spiders. (Being broke may also have something to do with my lack of travel plans, of course.)