Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo

Episodes: 16 

Synopsis:
Kim Bok Joo is a weightlifter and has focused on barbells her entire life. She attends Hanwool College of Physical education alongside with other competitive athletes who are all driven to succeed. Everyone hopes to excel in their sport and represent their country in national and international competitions. All the athletes must face different tasks and face different challenges given to them in life--for instance, some people have to deal with social groups making fun of them, some are competing against very competitive rivals, and some people have to deal with backstabbers and gossiping within their sport. After a few bad encounters with Jung Jeon Heong, Kim Bok Joo and Jung Jeon Heong realize that they knew each other from when they were children. They went to the same elementary school together and they were reunited in college. As Jung Jeon Heong begins to excitedly greet Kim Bok Joo and tag along to her constantly, Kim Bok Joo finds him increasingly annoying as he constantly teases her with childhood names ("Fatty").
            Jung Jeon Heong is a competitive swimmer who has trouble recovering from the trauma of being disqualified for a false start in his first international swim competition. His ex-girlfriend, Song Si Ho is competitive rhythmic gymnast who broke up with Jeon Heong to pursue her athletic dreams and to do even better. As they deal with different social groups in their school and train for their sport, Bok Joo finds herself falling in love with Jung Jae Yi, a former athlete who becomes an obesity doctor. Throughout the drama, the characters learn more about themselves and learn to love themselves more while experiencing the best few years of their youth training, loving, and hanging out with friends.

Review: 

I really enjoyed this drama because it followed a female character that is different than most females that we see in dramas. Of course, the actress is still gorgeous and extremely slim. However, her character, Kim Bok Joo, is a weightlifter and she is often teased for her weight, for her "tough, manly" body type, and so forth. However, her optimism and the way she still manages to show that love isn't based on physical attributes all the time is extremely uplifting. The way her friends supported her and each other because they understood the struggles of being a female weightlifter was is also very sweet. This drama also put a lot of other weight-related and body-related themes in this drama. There's a character who is extremely underweight and lacking in nutrition due to her family's financial conditions. As a result, she suffers from symptoms similar to those of anorexia. It showed the ugly side of being "underweight" considering how her body starts rejecting food when she tries to eat and how she also doesn't get her period anymore. It shows the struggles athletes sometimes have to deal with such as being under the pressure to excel and to also maintain their weight regardless of personal desires or personal situations. 

         I also loved how the male character, Jeon Joon Hyeong, is constantly on Kim Bok Joo's side defending her and also constantly reminding her to love herself. He does come off a bit immature in the beginning because he thinks that by teasing Kim Bok Joo and by getting a reaction out of her (even if it is a negative one) is a good thing. However, he really helps her out in numerous ways and even calls her out when she is not living up to her potential. Similarly, it is also nice to see the way he and his ex interact and it shows how both of them have lives and worries of their own. It was nice to see them living their own lives. At the same time, it shows that sometimes love stories don't work out and that people have histories. It is also interesting to see how sometimes no matter how badly you try to make a relationship work, it can't work when someone has moved on. Song Si On bothered me after a certain point because of her obsessiveness and the way she made herself into the antagonist by constantly starting things with Bok Joo. 

           This drama also reminded me of my school life since I go to college out-of-state. It showed me how much more there is to experience with more freedom. You may have a roommate, like Kim Bok Joo, who asks for the windows to be closed at all times to prevent catching a cold when you actually want them open because you produce a lot of body heat. However, you have to learn to work with your roommate. This drama also made me want to be more into sports since it takes place in a sports school and all of the characters are competitive athletes. It did make me extremely jealous that they maintained such great bodies despite constantly eating unhealthy foods like fried chicken, burgers, and choco pies.
            It also has a great message about relationships and loving yourself. For instance, you cannot pretend to be someone you aren't just to get someone to love you. People will love you for who you are and if they don't, they weren't meant to be in your life to begin with. This couple was ultimately goals and extremely realistic. They unconditionally love and support one another and often have really cute and petty arguments. When this drama ended, I was extremely sad because this drama made me so happy. This has got to be one of the most comfortable dramas I've watched and definitely the one where I caught myself smiling stupidly at my computer screen the most. I would highly recommend this to all viewers.  

Moonlight Drawn By Clouds

Episodes: 18
Synopsis:
Hong Ra On is a young woman during the Joseon Dynasty who disguises herself as a man named Sam Nom. She ghostwrites for people and also offers relationship advice for men. As she brings people together, she also ruins other relationships in the process. As people try to find her to get "revenge," she is brought into contact with the crown prince through a love letter she helped write for a client. Through a series of events, Ra On ends up getting sold into the Royal Palace as a eunuch, gets accepted by chance, and is then assigned to work for Royal Consort Soo Ki and Princess Young Geun. As the crown prince enjoys her presence and realizes she is a girl, he begins to order Ra On to be his own personal eunuch. As a political power struggle ensues, Ra On will have to try harder to hide her identity, maintain her relationship to the crown prince, and also learn new things about herself and politics.

Review:
           This drama is originally a web novel. I read somewhere about how much this story means to the author because she wrote it in secret after promising her husband to watch over her newborn baby for the first few years. She wrote this to regain her own identity and she came to discover, that with the birth of her child, she was able to write in a new style that was more happy and colorful than her previous works. She must not have realized how popular her story would get nor did she imagine that her writing be turned into a drama as it has today. So I'm actually very proud for her in regard to that and figured it'd be nice to include a bit of the story behind the making of this story. Now, I'll give my review about the drama.
            This drama is a cross-dressing drama where the girl character is dressing up as a boy in order to survive on the streets and she ends up becoming an eunuch for the crown prince. While I do not enjoy dramas that have oblivious boys wondering if the girl is really a boy, I enjoyed this one because the male characters were pretty fast on catching on with the situation. Also, the fact that Ra On had to hide her identity and become a Sam Nom is a big factor in relation to her history as well as how it ties into the story. Therefore, it is easier for me to follow and not feel frustrated by the boys in the drama.
          There were some scenes in this drama that I found were pretty slow for me but the scenes were all extremely aesthetically appealing.
          I really liked the actors in this drama. I have been following Kim Yoo Jung from when she starred as a child actress in dramas to now, where she is the main lead. It has been a pleasure of watching a girl grow up alongside with me (and do more things with her life in comparison to me haha). I also loved Park Bo Gum as the prince because he is the perfect mix of intensity and softness mixed in one. The chemistry between the two was amazing and all the scenes they filmed together were beautiful.
          One downside of this drama is that things moved really slowly for me. I started to get bored with the drama toward the end. It didn't appeal as much and there was more "setting up" the storyline than anything actually happening.

Lie To Me

Episodes:16 
Synopsis:
Gong Ah Jung is a young woman who is a government employee of the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism. In order to not lose face in front of a friend, she lies about being married and this lie begins to spread like wildfire. Soon everyone is gossiping about her supposed secret marriage to Hyun Ki Joon, the wealthy president of World Hotel. Ki Joon begins to be burdened by this lie as well as he has to constantly address these rumors. Thus, he decides to get Ah Jung to correct the situation by revealing that she had lied. However, when things don't go as planned, Ki Joon decides to take legal action against Ah Jung. They begin to bond more and more in the time being and the two find that they could mutually benefit from this situation if they pretend to be married for a short while and then divorce. Ki Joon is still bitter about the rumor and says he will continue to follow through with the lawsuit after this pretend marriage. The two begin to fall in love in this pretend marriage and when his ex-fiancee returns from France, he questions his commitment to her as he is becoming increasingly fond of Ah Jung.

Review:
I watched this drama a long time ago and I don't really remember the details nor do I remember how I felt about it. I do recall enjoying it and thinking that it was an interesting drama. However, I do not want to state any more opinions on this as I don't really recall this drama.

The Third Love (Movie)

           It is actually kind of hard to gather my thoughts for this movie. I'm very half-half about this movie. I enjoyed it for the most part but there are things that I didn't enjoy. Some scenes could've went differently and some scenes seemed a bit over the top. This movie definitely had potential to be this bittersweet type of movie but by the end I wasn't sure how to approach this. The ending was definitely not satisfying for me because it showed me how sometimes even the best relationships don't get "happily ever afters" and that love isn't always answer. 

           This movie tells the sad love story between Zhou Yu and Lin Qi Zheng. Zhou Yu is a young and beautiful lawyer who lives with her friend. Her friend is obsessed with Lin Qi Zheng, the boss at her company. As her best friend dives into a self-made fantasy about how she and Lin Qi Zheng are dating and even attempts to commit suicide when he wasn't reciprocating the "love," Zhou Yu decides to take things into her own hands. In order to help her friend, she goes to the company to confront the young and rich CEO to get him to make himself clear to her friend and to fire her so that her friend can move on. Lin Qi Zheng is extremely confused by Zhou Yu's angry outburst for he had never even interacted with her friend before. Realizing this, Zhou Yu goes back to apologize and the two begin meeting each other more often for work. They slowly begin to fall in love while trying to keep it hidden from Zhou Yu's delusional friend. However, Lin Qi Zheng is from a rich family and the two were never meant to be as they were worlds apart. As friendships fall apart and traumatizing events happen, the two can only go on separate paths despite all the beautiful and loving memories the two made together. 

           I enjoyed the romance for the most part and that is the main focus in this movie. It is realistic, it is a slice of life for a lot of couples, and the chemistry between the actors were crazy. This movie is a Chinese movie but the male character is played by the Korean actor, Song Seung Heon. He also talked in Chinese but I'm pretty sure it is dubbed for the most part (thankfully in a way that isn't that obvious). Fun fact, the actors in this drama (Liu Yi Fei aka Crystal Liu) and Song Seung Heon are actually dating in real life and they are both outstanding actors and I have looked into many films that they have done. If you are to watch this, just be prepared for scenes that seem a bit "extra" and be prepared to not get the ending you hope for. 

Ryeo (aka Moon Lovers)

Episodes: 20

Synopsis:

Scarlet Heart started off as a Chinese internet novel. After the story got turned into a Chinese drama, it was an instant hit among the viewers in China and other Asian countries. Korea also enjoyed watching the Chinese drama and after a few years producers decided to make the Korean version of Scarlet Heart. This drama is called Ryeo and it is also known as Moon Lovers. The story revolves around a girl who ends up traveling back in time into her previous incarnation's body after "dying" in the modern world. As she interacts with the princes of that time, she finds that the history she knows is as it is because of the things she said, influenced, and acted upon back in the day. Not only is she caught in the political battle and power struggle as the princes fight for the throne but she is also caught in numerous love triangles. This drama follows the basis of the characters, the plot line, and the history from the Chinese internet novel/drama but also adds in it's own twists and turns. It is similar yet very different from the Chinese drama all at the same time.  

Review:

             For those who have followed this blog since the very beginning, you would know that I am a huge fan of the Chinese drama Bubujingxin and that I recommend it to almost everyone I meet. When I found out that the Korean version was going to be a thing, I was excited yet worried that it would disappoint me. The thing with Korean dramas is that it is more widely watched by international fans compared to Chinese dramas so I know that for many people, Ryeo is their first encounter to the story of Bubujingxin and I know it is going to have similarities and differences to the Chinese version. I don't mind differences because that gives the Korean drama it's own charm. However, I was worried about it disappointing or not having good acting or not showing the true intensity in some of the scenes. For example, the Korean remake of Fated to Love You was a huge disappointment to me because I watched the Taiwanese version a long time ago and the emotions involved with the characters in each scene hit closer to home than the Korean version did (they made the guy too nice when the whole point of the drama was that he was a dick to her and that you're supposed to feel bad for her). Similarly for BBJX, I cried in so many scenes as the drama went on and I truly applauded the acting of these actors because they did such a great job. I hope that this is the same case for Ryeo and that they're able to get the audience to follow along with the story and feel everything these characters may be feeling.

           One point I want to note is that Ryeo is not based on Korean history as they are using the Chinese history as the storyline. In BBJX, they actually followed real Chinese history and made it so that the main character (who got transported  back in time) caused the way history was made. In Ryeo, they are using the same storyline with their own twists and they are also using new ways to express the characters such as by making the 4th prince a lot darker and more mysterious. I found it interesting when they changed the backgrounds of some people, altered their personalities a bit, or even adding in childhood trauma to the 4th prince. It was nice to watch. It felt like I was watching a drama that was similar to the plot line of BBJX because they made it very unique to itself. 

             I actually really enjoyed this drama because it followed the general plot of the original story and the characters acted out based on the original guidelines for what their personality was like as well. However, despite following the Chinese drama, this drama also made it it's own by adding in scenes and changing the way scenes play out. I truly enjoyed it. There were some scenes that were very unexpected because it didn't happen in the Chinese one and the ending is just as heart-wrenching in it's own way as the Chinese one was.
          The actors all did an amazing job. The main characters had amazing chemistry and IU did a great job as Hae Soo. Lee Jun Ki definitely had me head over heels throughout the entire drama and his backstory makes their relationship even more beautiful. Also, the idea of him having a scar was not seen in the Chinese one but using that, you can see how much Hae Soo means to him because she covered the scar for him and wasn't scared of it. The OSTs were also absolutely beautiful. They are happy yet sad at the same time--especially when you go back and listen to it after watching this drama.
         I would highly recommend this Korean drama but I would also highly suggest that you watch the Chinese version first so you can compare and contrast. You may come to like both dramas as much as I did. Ryeo is done in a very fantasy-like, cheerful way where the story adapts to the main character  and a lot happens within a few episodes without much buildup whereas for BBJX it was definitely more realistic and hit closer to home because you get so involved in the life and story. BBJX also takes its time to let the story slowly unravel. The characters in BBJX also followed mannerisms of the time whereas Ryeo made the characters seem more modern. I really enjoyed the Korean drama but I feel like I definitely enjoyed Ryeo more because I was able to compare and contrast with the original. All in all, I was not disappointed by Ryeo and I greatly enjoyed it. It was cheerful, fun, fast-paced, and almost fantasy-like. It definitely was very comfortable to watch and the way scenes were shot were very aesthetically pleasing.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND! AND I HOPE WE GET TO SEE A HAPPY ENDING SOON--WHETHER IT'S FROM A FEW SPECIAL EPISODES OR A SECOND SEASON! I'LL BE WAITING!!!
(P.S. If you're feeling sad about the 10th prince, I highly recommend you watch the Chinese version because he gets a happy ending there since he stayed out of politics--because he didn't really understand it. Haha!)

Alice: Boy From Wonderland (Movie)

         With less than a week from Halloween, I decided to watch a horror movie that seemed pretty interesting. In this movie, Hye Joong is a graduate student who has bad nightmares which keep her from being able to daily tasks and go along with her life. She knows that she has once killed a person and can't seem to shake it off as it continuously haunts her in her dreams. As she constantly feels unwell, she is unable to remember things or do things well. People around her begin to look down on her and criticize her as well.
         She ends up going to a doctor but they find nothing wrong with her. Her aunt makes Hye Joong goes to a shaman to help take care of her problems and to stop these nightmares from happening. The shaman tells her to go to a place called Wonderland. Wonderland is a villa where Hye Joong and her family had vacationed when she was younger. Hye Joong doesn't remember much of her childhood and so she has to retrace her steps back into her past. She is to find something that she lost within the 15 days that she is there so that her nightmares can go away. If she fails to do so, all will die--herself, her aunt, and the other characters that she is to meet.
         There she meets a young man named Hwan and a woman named Ryun. Hwan is constantly by Hye Joong's side and speaks of her as though he is familiar with her from the past. He is often frustrated by the fact she doesn't recognize him. While living here, she notices strange things and strange figures showing themselves and so forth. At the same time, she also gets these flashbacks from when she was younger of being in the house and they begin to correlate with the figures she sees in the house. As she starts making an effort to find what she has lost in the house and trying to piece things together, she has to deal with the other characters in the movie. Ryun is constantly looking for her when she's alone, prepared to kill her, but Hwan is trying to protect her. As the movie goes on, reality and dreams seem to blend and blur together. The truth also slowly comes out as well as Hye Joong remembers. As it went on, it got extremely twisted but it was still nonetheless interesting.

Secret Garden

Episodes: 20

Synopsis:
Gil Ra Im a stuntwoman. Despite doing hard tasks that most people can't do and despite dressing like a tomboy, she is a young girl at heart. She gets involved with the CEO of a luxury department store , Joo Won, after he mistook her for the actual actress. After leaving a strong impression on one another, Joo Won cannot forget his meeting with Gil Ra Im and continuously goes to find her. Their fates are intertwined with one another and they get closer as they experience a strange body-swapping moment with one another. Throughout the process, they interact with other people and help other people see the power of love. It is a comedic and interesting drama.   

Review:

           I finally got around to watching this drama after years of finding it hard to get into. However, this time, I pushed through and I actually enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. Sometimes dramas are considered good/bad depending on the time you watch them. As you grow as people, you may find some plots likable and others unlikable. My first time watching this was hard for me to get into this drama but now I really liked the plot, the characters, and so forth. However this does not mean that there are some parts to this drama that I didn't like and certain elements of the character that I didn't like as well. 

         I really liked Ra Im's character because she's such a strong person both physically and mentally. She also treats her friends very well too. However, under her tough exterior, she's a woman at heart and likes being complimented for her hard work, likes girly things at times, and also is very cute. However, this plot felt slightly stereotypical where they start off with bad impressions of one another, the girl likes someone else, the guy likes her after never having a crush before, he's rich, he's cool, he saves the girl and helps her out, and she ends up falling in love with him. The only interesting element was that they added in a few episodes where they changed bodies which was humorous and interesting and unexpected.
        I also love the side characters as well. The relationship between Ah Young and Secretary Kim and the relationship between Oska and Yoon Seul were so nice to watch and the three relationships all had different dynamics. I loved all the relationships portrayed in this drama and a lot of the characters were so fun to watch. I did find Joo Won's mom a bit harsh, to be honest. But she is still pretty funny and I thought it was realistic how she still didn't accept them but accepted the grandkids they gave her.  Oska is my spirit animal--"Do you want my autograph?"
              The songs and OSTs were also so pretty though and this drama had some of my favorite songs as their OST. I would highly recommend you watch this because the last episode made me so happy. The entire drama made me happy (in all honesty).