Ae Jung was once the most popular member of the girl band, ‘The National Treasure Girls’. When the band broke up ten years ago, she received the bulk of the blame. Despite her warm personality, her career has suffered ever since and now she vies for air-time on variety shows. Dokko Jin is a top movie star at the height of his career. He meets Jung and they become involved in each other’s careers. Jin helps Jung land a role on the new reality show, ‘Couple Making’. Yoon Pil Joo, a doctor of oriental medicine, is the bachelor being matched up on the show. Jin and Pil Joo both fall for Jung – on and off the show.
mydramalist
- Starring: Cha Seung Won | Gong Hyo Jin | Yoo In Na | Yoon Kye Sang
- Episodes: 16 (1 Hr. 5 Min.)
- Aired: May 4 – June 23, 2011
- Network: MBC
- Where to Watch: VIKI
Recently I had vowed that I will never watch another Hong Sisters show. Now, I’m a liar. And not only did I watch this crazy ass show, I somewhat enjoyed it! The usual things that I dislike about a Hong Sisters show was there, the incomplete plot holes, the forced love shapes. But with all that, there were things in this that I found myself really enjoying.
What I found worked the most about this show was that it didn’t feel dated. It has it’s ten year anniversary this year and I feel that the storyline of celebrities getting into scandals and their popularity ending on thriving based off the fickle public. I found a lot of what Gu Ae Jung went through to mirror a lot of what is happening currently in the K-Pop world. It was nice to see that even though she was a fallen celebrity, she continued to work toward her dream and not hide in the shadows. But if I’m being completely honest here, there is no difference between this character and any of the other ones Gong Hyo Jin has played. I kept getting a lot of Jealously Incarnate vibes as I watched.
But let’s be honest, I live for a dick male lead and Cha Seung Won’s Doko Jin was just that… until he wasn’t. It was actually nice to see him be this flawed character. He was a top actor but he wasn’t perfect, he had a broken heart, literately. I was confused by the whole heart surgery in the beginning but then my slow ass caught up and realized what they were doing. I liked that. When a male lead ends up realizing they have feelings for the female lead, they tend to be over the top and somewhat a bitch ass but what I liked about Doko Jin was that he kinda stayed an arrogant jerk throughout the whole show but when he realized he was in love, he was going to be in love to the fullest. He was such a big personality, I didn’t even get second lead syndrome. Even though the oriental medicine doctor was really nice, I didn’t see him no more than a friend for Ae Jung.
However, the thing that grinded my gears the most was the fact there was a whole subplot about how Ae Jung and Kang Se Ri’s girl group got disbanded ten years prior. There were a bunch of shady things happening and I felt like they could have explored that a little more but by the end of the show, I wasn’t even sure how things got resolved. I didn’t understand the anger that their ex-manager had toward Ae Jung and I’m pretty sure none of the other characters understood it either.
The question I think here is, now that the show is about 10 years old, does it still hold up? I want to say yes. It has all of the ingredients of a well made romantic comedy. Are some of them a little over used and stale? Maybe so. But at the end of the day things come down to chemistry and believability for me. I rooted for this couple and the side ones as well. Even while I rolled my eyes.
Acting : 7/10
Story : 8/10
Music : 8/10
Overall : 7.5/10
Recommended For : Idol fans and not scared of a throwback
Fave Song : Hold my Hand – IU
Unbothered Unnies 