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Tuesday, March 2, 2010

God of Study (2010)



God of Study
공부의 신  / Master of Study
(Jan – Feb 2010)

who’s in it
Kim SuRo (Family Outing S.1 – member)
Bae DooNa (Someday, The Host – film)
Oh YoonNa (Someday)
Yoo SeungHo (Queen Seonduk)
Park JiYeon (girl idol group T-ara – member)
Go AhSung

what’s it about
Four hopeless students, which include one attitudinally-challenged jajangmyun delivery boy Yoo SeungHo and the two girls who have the hots for him Park JiYeon and Go AhSung, attend an equally hopeless high school where their education is slowly being flushed down a toilet by laziness and complacency. The three mentioned above and two other kids are given the random opportunity of a lifetime to better their education by joining a “special class” designed like a edu boot camp for dummies by an overly moralistic and pompous lawyer (Kim SuRo) with some point to prove. By recruiting a strange assortment of quirky but effective teachers, Kim SuRo aims to change the lives of these five kids; even makes a wager that he can get these students into a top university by [his] hard work and [his] sheer force of will.

commitment 
16 episodes

network
KBS2

wildcard factor
Well, how much do you love Yoo SeungHo, also known as the young So JiSub? Me, I couldn’t care less about the young’un one way or the other. I think overall he is watchable and may grow into a great actor in time, but judging him by this drama alone, I’d have to conclude that while there is definitely a natural talent in him, there is still need for some maturing and developing of his craft.

after the first episode
The kids were watchable but the storyline for the adults was a little drab...Bae DooNa deserved better, although her hair was styled rather nicely. Based on a Japanese manga…and it lacked depth. The drama used a lot of cheap moments to garner sympathy and didn’t feel all that well thought out. I could tell immediately that Kim Suro’s character, an entertainer I normally like, had a great potential to become annoying. I did not love it...

gave up
Kim SuRo was grating on the nerves...as were all the teachers, if I’m being honest about it (forgive me Bae DooNa, I still adore you and think you are the best). The storyline was overextended and so thin it was almost invisible. The kids were cute at first but even they lost their shine near the end. I checked in on the progression of the ‘studying’ off and on to see if there were any fantastic developments in the characters but it continued without any real surprises and concluded as expected.

If you like diet drinks, this one’s for you. The amount of favoritism you harbor for Yoo SeungHo will probably be the deciding factor on whether or not you like this drama. It certainly won’t be the complexity of the plot or the profundity of the acting that will keep you captivated, that’s for sure.

Apologies to all the Study fans out there (I hear there is a few of them, too), I just didn’t care for it. I didn’t hate it, but definitely did not think it was any good.

2 comments:

  1. heh after watching the first few episodes, i must say i was more inclined to your verdict. i took a break frm watching (cuz the plot is SLOWW)there were some nice scenes, not many. but persevere i'd say theres better acting at the back. Kim SooRoo had a one dimenisional character at the front but it evolved, albeit slowly.Bae Doo Na is an awesome actress, i like her acting altho her character is tad bit cutesy. Yoo Seung Ho is okayy... talented but not that brilliant. Go AhSung however shines i think in this drama. Her acting is very natural altho not that developed. Jiyeon is just ulzzang!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree with you about Go AhSung, she was definitely one of the more positive check marks for the drama.

    ReplyDelete

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