First Impressions – How Them Dramas Be?

This weekend I’ve been battling a cold and since I completed my weekly episodes of I Will Never Let You Go and Emily’s Five Things by midday on Friday, I figured it was time to try and get out of my kdrama slump. With many dramas come great responsibilities. So many new dramas have graced us as well as old dramas that I may have been too busy to catch during when they were originally airing. So here’s some first impressions of dramas that I have watched and whether I would recommend to keep watching or to pack it up and move on.

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 Spring Turns To Spring

Kim Bo-Mi (Lee Yu-Ri) works as a TV news anchorwoman and she only cares about herself. Lee Bom (Uhm Ji-Won) was once a popular actress, but she is now a lawmaker’s wife. She focuses only on taking care of her family. Somehow these two women switch bodies.

I initially decided I wanted to check this out because I saw Yoo Ri in Father Is Strange and I caught a bit of Hide and Seek prior to deciding it was a bore and dropped it like a hot patty. This one seemed like the age old body swapping story so I figured, “Hey! What the heck.” The drama starts off showing us the difference between the two women’s lifestyle and I thought to myself that maybe I wouldn’t last after all. Still I continued on and immediately figured out that this drama was exactly my style. I am a sucker for female friendships because I feel like we don’t see enough in Korean dramas. I say Korean dramas because I often find that the Chinese and Taiwanese dramas I have been watching tend to have really strong female friendships. Although this drama feels very cliched and predictable I think we’ll be in for a treat!

Highlights

• The duality of the lead actresses: they are extremely believable when playing the other person.
• Family interactions: there’s a very interesting development that is happening with the two leads and their various “families” that will be interesting to see.
• Excellent comedic timing: I found myself thoroughly cringing during some scenes and laughing out loud as well.

I would definitely recommend checking a few episodes out especially if you’re a fan of seeing vibrant and layered female leads.

Where to watch: Kocowa or Viki

First Impression Score: 8/10

Romance Is A Bonus Book

Cha Eun-Ho (Lee Jong-Suk) is a genius writer and the youngest chief editor ever at his publishing company. He is smart and handsome. He is also even tempered at work, but he has a warm heart and a reasonable personality.

Kang Dan-Yi (Lee Na-Young) used to be a popular copywriter, but she is not anymore. She is now broke and unemployed. Even though she tries to find a job, due to her impressive career and excellent educational background, she is unable to find a new job. Finally, Kang Dan-Yi gets a job at a publishing company by lying about her background. Cha Eun-Ho is the chief editor at that publishing company. They begin to develop romantic feelings for each other.

I have a very tense relationship with Jong Suk or as I like to call him chapped lips (why he can’t use Vaseline??) I had zero desire to check this out and I decided I would cause I saw people had very differing opinions and so naturally I had to form an opinion for myself. It started off nicely and I thought to myself that perhaps the comments against it were just exaggerations. This first episode felt so unbelievably long but I understood the need to build the story. However, I couldn’t make it beyond the middle of the second episode. It is not as horrible as the comments I have been seeing, but I could tell midway that I am definitely not in the mood to watch this type of drama right now. It seems to be presenting itself as a kind of “slice of life” drama, but I found certain aspects to be so thoroughly unbelievable which I won’t say to avoid spoilers.  I won’t continue it but I could see myself skimming through the comments after the show is completed to see how things turn out. The editing in some parts of the episode assisted in elevating the humorous parts and I can’t get over how gorgeous Jung Eugene looked in her frames!!

I would recommend you check this drama out if you are into slice of life dramas and perhaps are looking for something that is romantic with very cute moments. Plus I heard there’s a LGBT couple so like that’s something to look forward to!

Where to watch: Netflix

 First Impression Score: 6/10

The Crowned Clown

Joseon is in a state of disorder due to uprisings and a power struggle surrounding King Lee Hun (Yeo Jin-Goo). To avoid assassination, a clown named Ha Sun (Yeo Jin-Goo) is brought to the palace to take the place of King Lee Hun. Ha Sun looks almost identical to King Lee Hun.

When Ha Sun was a child, his parents died during an epidemic. Ha Sun almost died from starvation around that time, but he was saved by a group of clowns. Ha Sun grew up with the clowns and became one of them. During their performance, Ha Sun would play King Lee Hun due to their similar physical appearance. Now, Ha Sun is nervous that someone in the palace will find out he is not the real king. He falls for beautiful Queen Yoo So-Woon (Lee Se-Young).

If there is one child actor who I have enjoyed watching blossom into an adult it is Jin Goo. I try not to have much expectations when it comes to dramas, but I can’t help being excited whenever I see him in a saeguk. Let me tell you… not even three minutes into episode one and I was already snatched by his flawless acting. HOLY SHIT THIS BOY IS GOOD. I didn’t need to hear the conversation with his father to know that they had a tense relationship, I could sense it from the very first scene. I never watched Masquerade which this show is based off and I doubt I will at this point because I do not want to compare, but wow the first two episodes were certainly something. My attention was just focused on Jin Goo, this boy is an ACTOR. It is just so unbelievable how freaking great he is.. I am equally disgusted by the king but also feel remorseful and it doesn’t make sense to me? I know I am like gushing over him, but he is honestly the highlight of the drama so far and the reason I feel compelled to keep watch. From what I have seen thus far it is not heavy on the romance, but even then I think there’s a nice chemistry between our leads.

If historical dramas aren’t your forte then I’d say skip it, but if you enjoy historical dramas and want to see Jin Goo shine in what he does best then give it a play.

Where to watch: Viki

First Impression Score: 9/10

Clean With Passion For Now

Jang Sun-Gyeol (Yoon Gyun-Sang) has mysophobia (fear of germs) and runs a cleaning company. He meets Gil O-Sol (Kim You-Jung). She has a bright personality and she does not mind getting dirty. With the help of Gil O-Sol, Jang Sun-Gyeol faces his mysophobia and also falls in love with Gil O-Sol.

Like Jin Goo, I have the softest spot for Yoo Jung. I enjoy watching her act and seeing her all grown up just makes me feel like a proud mom. I was anticipating this only for her as I’m not a big fan of the male lead nor the second lead. The story also sounded ridiculously cliched and dumb, but I just knew that Yoo Jung would deliver a comedic performance and boy it didn’t disappoint. Immediately from episode one I found myself laughing at her antics and also how unbelievably gross she is. I appreciate that the drama has already ended because it strikes me as a binge watch kind and I think that if I were watching while it was airing I would probably have dropped it. Of course I can’t be certain how my journey with this drama will go but I am definitely continuing it.

Highlights

• Yoo Jung looks absolutely stunning and filthy at the same time.
• Chemistry between the leads feel very palpable.
• The supporting characters seem promising.

Check this drama out if you’re into romantic comedies… Skip it if you don’t want to deal with cliches.

Where to watch: Sooo… uhhhh you know 😉

First Impression Score: 7/10

SEE YOU SOON!