A Korean Odyssey

a-korean-odyssey kdramaSummary: Son Oh Gong, the monkey king is bound to protect Jin Seon Mi through a powerful bracelet called Geumganggo. The geumganggo has the power to enslave him by making him fall in love with the person who let him wear the bracelet and protect that person wholeheartedly. So Son Oh Gong has been following Jin Seon Mi around and protecting her from all evil spirits which are bothering her.

Trailer: A Korean Odyssey

Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Comedy, Horror, Supernatural, Magic
Episodes: 20
Stars: Lee Seung Ki as Son Oh Gong
Cha Seung Won as King Wooma
Oh Yeon Seo as Jin Sun Mi
Lee Hong Ki as P.K
Jang Kwang as Yoon Dae Sik
Lee El as Ma Ji Young



Likes: The Story – at first it was confusing and the storyline was somewhat chaotic. I didn’t have a background of the original so I was quite lost. The beginning was like Alice in Wonderland with ghosts, evil spirits, demons, then even came a zombie. It was like a fantasy-horror roller-coaster! Lost but quite enjoying the adventure. Later on, our leading man was clear – handsome, mischievous, powerful – well, basically a god. Our leading lady, the girl in distress  didn’t and leave our handsome god a choice but to protect and love her. With that, I was happy, we’re back in a kdrama world, lol!

The Characters and the Cast – It took me a while to get used to the characters and understand how important and powerful each one of them as most of them were immortals but as soon as I got the hang of it, everything made more sense.

  • Lee Seung Ki as Son Oh Gong –  he is definitely most handsome in this role! I think he did so well as the rude monkey always teasing his girl but then always giving in to her. Among LSK’s kdrama, this is the first one he really connected and had an awesome chemistry with his leading lady which made him more handsome. I love how arrogant, angry, rude and hot-tempered Son Oh Gong was! A change to our normal sweet and polite kdrama leading man.
  • Oh Yeon Seo as Jin Sun Mi – She’s always pretty but she never really had a proper chemistry with his leading men in the past, maybe because of those strong and brave roles she was in. However, as Jin Seon Mi, Oh Yeon So became like a little girl who was a having a crush on someone older. She was more vulnerable which suits nicely with Son Oh Gong’s rough character. Her moments with Son Oh Gong were always something to watch for.
  • Cha Seung Won as Ma Wang – this guy is not just tall and handsome but a good actor as well. Cha Seung Won didn’t disappoint me as the vain, powerful, funny but carries sadness in his heart – Ma Wang, the bull King. Cha Seung Won’s acting was commendable, he would go from funny, quirky to sad. All with impressive facial expressions!
  • Lee Hong Ki as P.K – the naughty and mischievous Dwaeji! Suits Lee Hong Ki so well!
  • Lee El as Ma Ji Young – I love her, she’s gorgeous and she can act too!

The Kissing Scenes – Is it me or they’re very generous with kissing scenes these days. After I’m Not a Robot, this drama comes next to having an elaborate kissing scene this year. Not that I’m complaining, I LOVE IT! Bring in some more of these scenes! Our 2 top leads did a great job! They looked good and in love when they kissed, very convincing ;). I specially like the kiss at the bookshop. It was the famous reactivation kiss!

Bromance – my favourite is the bromance between Son Oh Gong and Ma Wang. It’s like they don’t like each but they like each other. They were so cute to watch especially when it comes to Son Oh Gong’s coat which he always hung on Ma Wang’s bull statue. The latter would get annoyed but then later missed him when there was no one anymore doing that.

The OST – I so love the song When I Saw You! Check out the rest of the OST as well.



Bizarre Stuff – The Winter General and the Summer Fairy were one person! It was more bizarre than the black dragon! Honestly, it took me a while to realize that haha. Also, the rotting smell of Bu Ja was successfully conveyed (at least to me) by how rotting she looked. Great acting and great job makeup artists!

The Outfits – This has a high probability in bagging the best in outfits/costume award which I’ll give later this year. Everyone looked good in their well-fitted outfits! I can imagine a lot of money went to this one.

The Ending – since the start of the show, the ending was always pointing to a sad one. However, I like  how I got my consolations. I can deal with that ending! It’s all good then :).

Dislike – the only complain I have here is how Son Oh Gong was pushed into that super “rich” character. It was unnecessary. I found it trying hard somehow.

My Rating: 8.5 stars! (10 as highest)

Continue reading “A Korean Odyssey”

My Sassy Girl

My-Sassy-Girl kdramaSummary: Gyun Woo, after coming back from Qing as a scholar lands on a job as the crown prince’s teacher. He meets a not-so-sassy, drunk but pretty lady in the streets of the capital only to find out later that she’s the princess Hye Myung. The princess has been trying to find out if her mother, the ousted queen is still alive. Gyun Woo tries to help her but finds out later he did a great mistake in the past that will cause their relationship to crumble.

Genre: Period, Romantic Comedy
Episodes: 32 (30-min episodes)
Stars: Joo Won as Gyun Woo
Oh Yeon Seo as Princess Hye Myung
Lee Jung Shin as Kang Joon Young
Kim Yoon Hye as Jung Da Yun



Likes: It’s period drama but not the serious ones. I love how they made it look like the modern times for instance…

  • Gyun Woo pictured in the beginning as the fashionista from Joseon and popular scholar in Qing.
  • Classy cafes and restaurants in the capital where the nobles and their wives and kids hang out. The nobles’ wives talk about the latest bag fashion and the daughters talk about the eligible bachelors in the town.
  • The bookstore! I love the bookstore with famous novels like Boys Over Flowers, My Lover from the Stars, Secret Garden and some more titles from popular kdramas.
  • The rich girls’ nail makeover hangout.
  • Those annoying pretty boys law enforcers who keep bugging Lady Da Yun.
  • The shoes! Pretty shoes in the streets of Joseon and the rich ladies have a collection of them.
  • The prince of Qing! He was far from looking like someone from Qing but who cares, he looked so good and looked like from a foreign land!
  • Even gangsters are well-organized like the present-time Korean mafia.
  • Use of rings to propose!

Some funny and cute moments but my favourite was when the princess was caught by Gyun Woo’s parents and sister slept over at Gyun’s Woo’s room. She wasn’t so sassy afterall!

We have great-looking leads! I love both of them. Joo Won, his looks and height complements the super beautiful Oh Yeon Soo!

Lee Jung Shin, it’s good to see him trying another drama genre. Although more workshop and practice for his acting skills, he has a great 2nd lead potential.

Great actress award goes to Yoon Se Ah, the annoying queen in this drama. Her facial expressions, dialogues and body languages show how professional she is.

From all period dramas I’d watched so far, this one has the sweetest Queen mum (the queen dowager, mum of the king).

Towards the end, we had 2 great story twists. One is the sad fate of Joo Myung and the Queen. The other one is Gyun Woo’s lost memory coming back and shedding light to the events of the past.

Great, flashy costumes!

Beautiful bridge scene and proposal as ending!




Dislikes: Some of the sets looked so made up like the garden of the princess. It looks like they decorated it with fake flowers.

Yes we have 2 gorgeous-looking leads but the chemistry, hm… not so blown-away.

The ending. Yes, very pretty bridge scene but no proper epilogue just lots of flashbacks. Quite poor.

My Rating: 7.5 stars! (10 as highest)

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Please Come Back Mister

please come back mister kdramaSummary: 2 souls were having unfinished business in the world of the living and were granted to come back in two different bodies. The salesperson Kim Young Soo came back as a handsome guy who eventually became the boss of the place where he used to work. On the other hand,  Han Gi Tak who used to be a tough guy came back as beautiful woman.

Genre: Melodrama, Comedy, Supernatural, Gender Bender
Episodes: 16
Stars: Kim In Kwon as Kim Young Soo
Rain as Lee Hae Joon
Kim Soo Ro as Han Ki Tak
Oh Yeon Seo as Han Hong Nan
Lee Min Jung as Shin Da Hye
Lee Ha Nui as Song Yi Yeon




Likes: It fits the 2 genres perfectly, a comedy and a melodrama which is just the right mixture of fun and sadness.

Though I’m not a big fan of Rain’s acting, it’s hard to ignore his presence. This guy is tall, buffed and sexy! Since he’s tall, everyone else is tall even the ladies…

The ladies woohooo! I’ve never seen such high concentration of talented and gorgeous ladies in one drama. Let’s start with…

Oh Yeon Seo as Han Hong Nan – OYS is a doll! Just perfect! She’s tall, with a vavavoom body and a very pretty face.  In fact it was hard to see her as a guy (as her role is a guy who came back from the dead). Nevertheless, she did well with her tough, gangster moves and voice.

Lee Ha Nui as Song Yi Yeon – I love this lady, she’s just beautiful and talented. Possesses a perfect body like OYS and has a natural talent for crying. Her role as a depressed had-been actress suits her well.

Lee Min Jung as Shin Da Hye – everyone will melt with her puppy-eyes. Our third leading lady has the simple and modest look but also beautiful and talented like the 2 mentioned above.

And I praise all the ladies above for their catwalk skills!

There were so many funny moments in the show but what I like best is when there’s one, this song plays… Feel Alive by Topp Dogg! It has this western feel to it and I always associate it to the good guys or the ladies winning.

It’s fun watching every episode ends with a short scene where the real Lee Hae Joon (played by Rain) and his pilot got stranded in an island after their plane crashed.

Finding out who the real sister of Han Gi Tak was a great twist.

Loved that short flashback in the end where Da Hye and Kim Young Soo met when they were younger. Sad fate for everyone but it’s good to know our 2 souls had a good closure.




Dislikes: Overused SBS building as a set for dramas. It’s hard not to recognize and ignore those corridors. Seen them a lot before.

I really like those massage chairs and I wish I will have one soon but bending the story of a drama to showcase these products or any product in general is just lame. At least make it not too obvious!

I was desperately hoping for a romantic happy ending. I shouldn’t have had.

My Rating: 7.5 stars! (10 as highest)

Shine or Go Crazy

shine or go crazy kdramaSummary: Prince Wang So known as the cursed prince was destined to be the successor to the 1st king’s throne but only if he would get married to a princess that would serve as his light and guide to be a true leader. Without knowing, he married a former princess who has that fate but right away separated from her without even seeing her face. After a few years, their paths had crossed again and began to fall in love.

Genre: Period, Romance, Kings & Princes, Gender Bender
Episodes: 24
Stars: Jang Hyuk as Wang So
Oh Yeon Seo as Shin Yool
Lee Ha Nui as Hwang Bo Yeo Won
Im Ju Hwan as Wang Wook




Likes: I always love a historic setting and seeing Jang Hyuk in prince costumes makes me always swoon. SWOON! Love sageuk and love Jang Hyuk!

The story got me hooked from the very beginning. Characters were well introduced – who’s the good guy – what are his potentials, who are the baddies – what bad things are they capabale of doing… made me interested in each one of them right away. Well done!

Too many pretty faces in this drama. Not that I’m complaining, in fact, that made me always look forward to another episode.

As mentioned in my pre-review, the chemistry between Wang So and Shin Yool was overwhelming. 2 great looking leads who very well complemented each other.

That interesting showcase of powerplay seen in most sageuk drama is once again in this one and I just loved it! How can they all be beautifully sneaky?

Excellent sword-fighting scenes! But when it comes to fight, my favorite is the princes’ tournament. This is where the
ladies are hooked (right?).

The characters, let’s dissect the top ones…

Prince Wang So – very well portrayed by Jang Hyuk who I think lost weight to exactly look like a poor swordsman then later, an old king (barely recognized him but he was still sexy). I love how Wang So fell in love, changing from a very focused leader to a child-like personality and I love how he would stare at his lady love. To top it all, he was funny, strong and brave!

Shin Yool – I always wonder how this delicate and beautiful being survived in that era. Yes delicate, beautiful, smart and very wise. She was just too lovable. No wonder why princes and generals were smitten by this beauty.

Prince Wang Wook – Oh dear, though he was competing against Wang So, he was definitely a top contender. Towering, good-looking, can fight but seems gentle and every inch a prince, a proud prince [swoon]. I love the music that’s being played everytime Wang Wook is in the scene, it’s light with a tinge of sadness.

Princess Yeo Won – I like the lady. She wasn’t the typical evil other princess but a beautiful, politically motivated, smart and powerful person. She was definitely giving it a fight to be on top. No nonsense. Just no love life for her, it was the price she was willing to pay.

Everyone else did a great job. Special mention to Wang Sik Ryum (the evil uncle), the brother king, Seo Won (sad for his tragic ending though) and to my favorite, Shin Yool’s brother who was funny though always causing trouble.




Dislikes: I don’t really like the ending. No matter how I think of it, it was a sad one. Realistically, Wang Wook would choose to be king (like how it was shown) and sacrifice his love and ended up as an old king who always longed for his lady love (as shown how he kept those memorabilias in his secret room). But what I don’t like most is to confuse viewers with a “there might be a happy ending” scene. I just don’t understand the very last scene. Was that a “what if” or he really lived as a king and went to see her from time to time??? For me, it’s either a Titanic ending or not, nothing in between.

I was disappointed how that battle ended up. They were talking about an army so big but couldn’t show that much. As what Shrek says, “You and what army?” Sorry but I expected an epic battle scene.

They could have been more creative with the title. It just doesn’t sound sageuk.

My Rating: 8 stars! (10 as highest)

Continue reading “Shine or Go Crazy”