13 December, 2011

Best Korean Drama of 2011

A thousand Kisses













  

★★★★★★★★★☆

Episodes: 50
Runtime: Augusti 20, 2011 - still ongoing.

Woo Joo Young (Seo Young Hee) is a woman who's married and have a son. She quite work an stays at home to take care of her mother-in-law and the regular chores. The only thing she does for "herself" is, taking cooking lessons. Her husband Park Tae Kyung (Shim Hyung Tak) is always busy and rarely have time for his family. Joo Young gets him to make a promise of taking their son, Chan No (Goo Seung Hyun), to a soccer game while she is at the cooking class. 

On the day of the soccer game, Tae Kyung is unreachable and wont come as promised. Joo Young then have to leave the cooking class in a hurry and literally bumps in to Jang Woo Bin (Ji Hyun Woo). He drops a chinaware bowl which he discover is broken later. 
Joo Young tries to call her husband during the soccer game. And in the end, she gets a phone call back. She walks away, so Chan No wont hear. But then Chan No walks away himself, in another direction. He wants to meet his favorite soccer player. He then meets Woo Bin, who is actually working as a sports agent for the player Chan No wants to meet. When Joo Young comes back and looks for Chan No, she sees him with Woo Bin. Woo Bin recognize her and ask her to pay for the broken bowl. So they exchange numbers and leave separately.

During this, Joo Young's younger sister Woo Joo Mi (Kim So Eun) sees her sisters husband kissing another woman. And Joo Young confronts him about it later. Of course he denies it and things go on as usual. But eventually it goes far enough, and denying it is useless. Joo Young goes through a lot of pain and hurt, and strangely enough Woo Bin is always there to comfort her. 

Joo Young decides to divorce her husband, move to her grandmother with her son, and start to work again. Her husband tries everything so they can't divorce. But in the end, it goes through. Joo Young and Woo Bin meets now and then, and they become pretty good friends. But eventually Woo Bin confesses that he is in love with her. Joo Young is put in a weird position, being a newly divorced woman with a kid and also being older than Woo Bin. 

Meanwhile, Joo Young's younger sister, Joo Mi bumps in to a man named Jang Woo Jin (Ryu Jin) while jogging. She falls for him immediately and gets thrilled when she sees him in a coffee shop again. Woo Jin looks like a cold man outwards, but actually he just have a difficult way of showing his feelings. They make a weird deal, but the deal becomes the truth. With Joo Mi being a lot younger than Woo Jin. And to make things even tougher for Joo Young and Woo Bin, Woo Jin is Woo Bin's cousin. So everyone is related to everyone in some way. 

- This is a refreshingly believable story. I can really relate to it, and that's what I like about it. It's pretty tiresome with stories being over the top or nothing much. So when I see this kind of stories where you can think, "Yeah, I know exactly how you feel" is nice. Off course, with dramas there is some unbelievable elements so we in the audience will be all clenched up for the next episode. But thats alright. It is still ongoing though, so there is still more to come. I like Ji Hyun Woo, as an actor.


I need romance


















★★★★★★★★★☆

Episodes: 16
Runtime: June 13, 2011 - August 2, 2011

Sun Woo In Young (Jo Yeo Jeong) is a 33 year old concierge manager at a hotel. Her boyfriend Kim Sung Soo (Kim Jeong Hoon) is a movie director. They went to the same school when they where young and have been together for 10 years. In Young hopes for Sung Soo to propose to her. But it doesn't seem like he even thinks about it. 
She then finds out that Sung Soo have had an affair with the actress Kang Hee. He claims that he really needs In Young though, and that he is very sorry. So she stays.
Eventually it evolves to a sort of, "making the other jealous" game and things becomes complicated. Bae Sung Hyun (Choi Jin Hyeok) works with In Young at the hotel, and they happen to kiss in all this. In Young decides to brake up with Sung Soo and be together with Sung Hyun instead. Thats when Sung Soo realize how important In Young is. But it might be to late, because In Young actually feels something for Sung Hyun.


Park Seo Yeon (Choi Yeo Jin) runs an online clothing store named Y style. She is a very strong and independent woman, not being afraid of showing it. She lives a very free life and is active pursuing her desires. In other words, she change her interest in men regularly.

Kang Hyun Joo (Choi Song Hyeon) is a lawyer specialized in divorces. She appears as a cold and arrogant woman with a perfectionist mentality. But in real she have a very cute and insecure personality and makes mistakes frequently. She is dumped by her boyfriend, at their wedding. But she keeps her head cold, and ask another man to pretend to be her new husband through the wedding. So people wont need to go home, and she wont feel embarrassed.

- You get to see this three women, go through a lot together. And they mostly have each others backs. Giving each other tips and comfort. It's a little bit of a "sex and the city" feeling to it, but I actually don't feel a lot of that. Anyway, this is another one of those believable drama-series that I adore. You can relate to it. And also, even though it's a lot of pain in this drama, it is hilarious as well. Especially the main protagonist In Young (Jo Yeo Jeong). During the drama, you also get to hear her thoughts about everything.         


Lie to me 


















★★★★★★★★★☆

Episodes:  16
Runtime: May 9, 2011 - June 28, 2011

Kong Ah Jung (Yoon Eun Hye) is an administrative official for the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. She coordinates a meeting with government officials. The meeting goes on well, and she gets praised by the minister himself. All of a sudden the meeting place gets attacked by bees, and the meeting turns into chaos. Ah Jung takes responsibility and have to write a written apology. She thinks of leaving a letter of resignation instead, while she drinks her sorrow away in a club. 

In the club she meets a man named Hyun Sang Hee (Sung Joon) which find some kind of entertainment in the drunk Ah Jung. Sang Hee seems to avoid someone though, so he quickly leaves the club when seeing someone looking for him. Later, Ah Jung stumbles out from the club and bumps into Hyun Ki Joon (Kang Ji Hwan). She then passes out, thanks to her bee sting from before, right in the arms of Ki Joon. She wakes up in the hospital and later gets to know who brought her there. 

Hyun Ki Joon is apparently the president of the conglomerate "World Group". He lost both his parents while young, and was raised by his ant together with his younger brother, Sang Hee. 
Ah Jung wants to pay him back for the hospital fee, but Ki Joon declines. But Ah Jung keeps being persistent.

Later Ah Jung meets Yoo So Ran (Hong Soo Hyun) who stole away her first love a long time ago. Still being sensitive by this matter, she lies to the now married couple. Telling them, that she also got married not long ago. Ah Jung then goes to Ki Joon's hotel, to pay him back for the hospital bill. She happens to spill tomato juice all over her sweater, while falling over in the lounge. Then pretending to faint while being embarrassed, Ki Joon picks her up and carries her to one of the hotel rooms. When some of Ah Jung's friends sees it by chance, the rumor of Hyun Ki Joon being the one Ah Jung married - starts of from there. 

- I love Yoon Eun Hye from "Coffe Prince", which is one of my all time favorite drama-series. So I really looked forward to this. And I absolutely think it delivered. It's funny, sweet and gives you the entertainment your looking for. Well, at least for me. And yet again, it is a strong woman with a lot of wit. But  she makes mistakes as well. And sure, the guy is cold and all. But this makes the cliché bits really well, and proceed it very good. It is really a worthy watch.


49 Days


















★★★★★★★★★☆

Episodes: 20
Runtime: March 16, 2011 - May 19, 2011 

Shin Ji Hyun's (Nam Gyu Ri) life seems to be perfect. She have her parents, which adore her. She have friends that all seems to admire her. She is also set to marry her fiancé Kang Min Ho (Bae Soo Bin), who she is happy together with.
Song Lee Kyung (Lee Yo Won) is a woman who is completely depressed and broken over her life and frequently tries to commit suicide. She works night shifts at a convenient store, and sleep most of the days. 

One day, Lee Kyung gets of a bus and wanders around, until she reach the place she wanted. She then walks out in the middle of the street and attempts to kill herself into the oncoming traffic. Someone is saving her, by pulling her back. But the traffic is already in disorder. 
Ji Hyun is driving in her car, being a bit upset from something she saw. She suddenly sees a big trailer in front of her and hits the brake. But it is to late...

Later, Ji Hyun wakes up, being in a daze. She immediately falls into shock, when she sees herself being carted into an ambulance. The only person who seems to notice her is a man on a motorcycle next to the sidewalk. Scheduler (Jung Il Woo) is an angel of sorts who awaits to take souls to their final destination. But Ji Hyun wasn't in his schedule. 

Ji Hyun follows her body to the hospital, while being there she meets Scheduler again. He tells her, because it wasn't really her time to go yet, she will get some extra time. While her body is in a coma, she will be able to live inside someone else's body when they sleep. She have 49 days to collect three genuine tears from people who loves her, besides her family. 
Ji Hyun think she is saved, since she have her two friends and her fiancé. But things was not as perfect as she thought. But unexpectedly, she get a lot of help and comfort from her friend Han Kang (Jo Hyeon Jae).

- Before getting scared from, perhaps a very weird storyline. Lets just say, you shouldn't. Because this drama is most definitely one of the best. I don't cry much, when it comes to drama series. But I think I cried from start to end, with some pauses in the middle. This is a really touching and great drama, with a lot of feeling to it. I like Lee Yo Won's empty face, while playing Lee Kyung. And then changing to the more happy go lucky Ji Hyun. She have some great acting skills. 


My princess 


















★★★★★★★★☆☆

Episodes: 16
Runtime: January 5, 2011 - February 24, 2011

Lee Sul (Kim Tae Hee) is a 25-year-old college student, majoring in art history. She keeps a shabby appearance and works several part-time jobs on top of her college career. She also has a crush on her professor Nam Jung Woo (Ryu Su Yeong). Lee Sul never thinks of her real birth parents much, being raised by Kim Da Bok (Lim Ye Jin), the woman she calls mother. She often thinks her real father will find her sometime though.

Park Hae Young (Song Seung Heon) is a 31-year-old diplomat. He is the only successor of the Daehan Jonghap Group, the largest conglomerate in Korea. Park Hae Young's grandfather wants the company to back down, to crown the righteous princess instead. In other words, he wants Hae Young to give up his rights and assets. The first thing first, they have to find the lost child who is the successor as the princess. And the princess name is supposedly Lee Sul.

When Hae Young goes to find her, he finds a girl he already meet by chance before. Back then, she told him another name. So when he figures out she is the one, things get complicated. Especially since Lee Sul wont believe she is a princess. But with time all of them realize that she is, and by that Hae Young and Lee Sul becomes somehow sworn enemies.

- This drama have a lot of complex things within. And it is absolutely exciting. I really like Kim Tae Hee, who was in the "Iris" drama and movie. She always delivers, and she is really strong and charming in this drama. I really like Song Seung Heon as well, but I haven't seen anything else with him yet. Seung Heon and Tae Hee has some really good chemistry as well. (The picture is a bit random, but I liked it).     


City Hunter


















★★★★★★★★☆☆

Episodes: 20
Runtime: May 25, 2011 - July 28, 2011

Lee Jin Pyo (Kim Sang Jun) and Park Moo Yul (Park Sang Min) worked as bodyguards at the South Korean President's home, Blue House. Without the president's knowledge, they plan a covert operation to go into North Korea and kill the North Korean agents who set a trap for them at their last mission. They gather men who will take part and then they go through with it. For their return, Choi Eung Chan (Cheon Ho Jin) promises to have a submarine waiting for them to carry them back to South Korea again. Meanwhile, the five high ranking South Korean public officers, who initiated the covert operation, changes their minds while the operation is taking place. The officials decide to give up on the 21 special force members taking part in the covert operation. 
The special forces complete their mission and swim into the ocean to be picked up by the submarine. Instead of being welcome on board, they are all killed by a sniper. All except Jin Pyo who was right behind Moo Yul. He sees his best friend sink to the bottom of the ocean. Lee Jin Pyo makes a promises to his fallen comrade, that he will take revenge.

He goes to Park Moo Yul's home and snatches away Moo Yul's baby, while Moo Yul's wife is hanging up clothes outside. Jin Pyo then moves to Thailand with the baby, and sets up a sort of camp in the jungle. There, he grows and trafficking illegal narcotics, while also training his new son into an elite soldier. 

Lee Yun Seong (Lee Min Ho) doesn't know anything about his real parents. He thinks his real father is Jin Pyo, which have raised him in a very cold and hard way.
Later on, Jin Pyo tells him all about it after losing his leg on a mine. That the revenge is to make up for Yun Seong's own fathers lost life. That Moo Yul was killed by his own government. Yun Seong then vows to exact revenge upon the five government officials responsible for his fathers death. 

Seven years later, Lee Yun Seong finally arrives in South Korea. Prior to arriving in South Korea, he studied at M.I.T in the United States. He then enters the Blue House, as an I.T engineer. He meets Kim Na Na (Park Min Young), who works as a bodyguard for the president's daughter. He should see her as an expected enemy, but can't. Instead they become close...

- This drama is indeed very intense and complex. Very interesting with all background info and all the evolvement within. And I also adore Park Min Young (Kim Na Na). She is really comfortable to look at. She isn't to much or to little. She is just a very natural and great actor. And I'm looking forward to see her in more to come. She is in a favorite drama from 2010, Sungkyunkwan Scandal. And speaking of, Lee Min Ho (Lee Yun Seong) is also in a favorite drama from 2010, Personal Taste. He have also been in Boys over flowers, and I adore him as an actor as well. They have a sparkling chemistry between each other.


Can you hear my heart















★★★★★★★★☆☆

Episodes: 30
Runtime: April 2, 2011 - July 10, 2011

Bong Woo Ri (Kim Sae Ron) is a 9 year old girl with a very bright and positive way of thinking. She doesn't have a real name or a father, and her mother is deaf. A man, Bong Young Gyu (Jeong Bo Seok), who is mentally deficient loves her mother dearly. All he wants is to ask her to marry him. Young Gyu lives with his old mother and his son, Bong Ma Roo (Seo Young Joo).

Bong Ma Roo is an honor student who is insecure about his foul-mouthed grandmother and his mentally deficient father. And to make matters worse, his father marries a woman who is deaf. Bong Woo Ri is in contrary very happy by the marriage. Now she have a family, and a name. 

Woo Ri meets a young boy, Cha Dong Joo (Kang Chan Hee) by chance. He promise to teach her the piano, and to keep the promise they meet up a couple of times. Cha Dong Joo, lives with his mother, stepfather and grandfather. Due to his grandfathers bad health, his stepfather runs their big company. When Cha Dong Joo comes home late one night, by climbing up at the side of the house, he sees his stepfather pretty much kill his grandfather. Cha Dong Joo falls from the balcony, from shock, and hit his head badly. He ends up in the hospital.
Later, he doesn't show up at the meeting place where Woo Ri awaits. And she thinks he ignored their promise. 

Tragedy soon struck Woo Ri's family as well. A fire occurs in the factory where Woo Ri's mother works. She is brought to the hospital but dies soon after. Bong Young Gyu and Woo Ri promise her that they will stay together before she dies. But Young Gyu gets taken by the police custody, as a suspect of a frame-up. In all this, Ma Roo leaves Woo Ri to get help, telling her that he will come back. But he never did.

Some years later, all of them have become older. Cha Dong Joo (Kim Jae Won) returns to South Korea, to fulfill his mothers revenge plan and take over the company which is rightfully his. He has a secret that can't be discovered though. 
Bong Ma Roo have change his name to Jang Joon Ha (Nam Gung Min), and is a doctor and apparently Cha Dong Joo's "brother".
Bong Woo Ri is still looking for her brother when ever she can, together with her father. When she sees Cha Dong Joo, she immediately thinks he is Bong Ma Roo. Where will all this lead... 


- This drama may sound a bit complicated but all makes sense later. And the complication just makes it interesting. I think that this drama is incredible interesting overall. It have a couple of moments when it is a little bit draggy. But that is probably because it is 30 episodes in total. And it happens something every time, in the end of every episode though. So you will still sit like on needles for the next episode. I'm impressed by the young actors, for the characters when they are young. Otherwise, I'm fondly attached to Kim Jae Won. He was actually cast for the drama "Me too, Flower". But due to an injury, he had to rest.


Heartstrings/You've fallen for me













★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Episodes: 15
Runtime: June 29, 2011 - August 18, 2011

Lee Kyu Won (Park Shin Hye) lives together only with her grandfather. Her father calls her now and then, but does it secretly from her grandfather. Kyu Won is majoring in Korean traditional music in university. She tries to make traditional music more popular amongst the students, and other people. She practice the gayageum almost every day, and she is very skilled in playing it. Her grandfather is one of the top three traditional musicians of his age, and his biggest wish is for his granddaughter to become a traditional music prodigy. While trying to live up to her grandfathers dream and expectations, Kyu Won becomes a university student who knows nothing outside of her studies.

Lee Shin (Jung Yong Hwa) lives with his mother and sister. He is the vocalist and guitarist of the band "The Stupid". He is majoring in modern music, at the same university as Kyu Won. Shin is very popular in school for his looks and passionated music. But he is really a very cold young man, with no dreams for the future. He likes Jung Yoon Soo (So Yi Hyun), a dance teacher at the university. 

Kyu Won's friends like the band "The Stupid", and she is asked to come with them to watch their performance. When she sees and hear Shin, she immediately gets captivated by him. She quickly changes her mind, when she finds out about his personality. But somehow she ends up being his "slave" for several days, when losing a bet. During those days, she finds out so much more about him and gets involved.

Meanwhile, the school tries to put together a kind of festival. With only the best to perform in it. They have a tryout with the students, and Kim Suk Hyun (Song Chan Ui) is the director of it all. He wants Kyu Won to be the main female lead, but for that she will have to train very hard. 

- This has a very nice feeling to it, since I love music. And well, I really like Jung Yong Hwa, mostly for C.N Blue. But also for his acting now. He made it pretty nicely. But I looked forward to this drama more because another favorite female actor was in it. Park Shin Hye, from the drama "You're Beautiful", which also is another one of my all time favorite dramas. She gives a great feeling as always, to it.


Me too, Flower















★★★★★★★★☆☆

Episodes: 16
Runtime: November 9, 2011 - Ongoing.

Cha Bong Sun (Lee Ji Ah) demonstrates infront of the police station she works for. She haven't gotten the promotion she had expected, and finds it unfair. She is dragged away by her coworkers and the chief explains to her that she is far from being an officer in practice. She disagree and loses her temper as always. She is then ordered to undergo counseling. 

After having a counseling session Bong Sun is nearly hit by a motorcycle. The motorcyclist Seo Jae Hee (Yoon Si Yoon) and Bong Sun starts an argument, with Jae Hee leaving in the middle of it. 

Jae Hee goes to his job, as a parking attendant at a high-class retail store. A woman starts a commotion inside of the store, and the police is called there. Bong Sung arrives at the scene, with the new recruit Jo Ma Roo (Lee Gi Kwang) she is in charge of. Bong Sun tries to reason with the woman, who is lying on the floor screaming. Bong Sun then notice Jae Hee in the crowd. They end up reasoning with the woman together, who is carried over to her man who also stands in the crowd. 

Jae Hee and Bong Sung talks over things quickly without really getting anything out of it. When Bong Sung is backing up the police car out from the parking-lot, she collides with a customers car, driven by Jae Hee. He panics when thinking of some memory from the past. He is later fired from his job, because of this. And he wants Bong Sung to take responsibility for it, since it was their fault, equally.

Bong Sung sees an advertisement outside a club, looking for a parking attendant. Later she goes to the store, to get Jae Hee's phone number. But he already works there again, to her surprise. 
Jae Hee is actually someone completely different from what he gives out to be. He founded the store together with Park Hwa Young (Han Go Eun) and he is the president of the company. Nobody have seen his face and he remains a mystery, when he wants to keep a low profile. He had asked Hwa Young to rehire him as a parking attendant, so that he can keep tabs on what goes on at his store. While Hwa Young wants him to reveal who he is.

- This drama has a very cosy feeling to it. I like it a lot so far. Instead of a cold man with issues, their is a very cheerful and bright man as a lead. He has some insecurity with himself and his background though. And then we have a very strong and independent woman, who works as a police. But is depressed and have trouble dealing with her anger. They are very natural and doesn't force anything. It feels like it is different from other dramas. And I'm awaiting the next episodes every week. Their chemistry is just right as well. They seem to be really great friends who quarrel a lot. They get extremely angry at each other when being to honest too. But they can actually say that they are sorry as well. Yeah, looking forward to see all of this. 

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Reservations for future changes. Take in consideration, that this list may change.

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