Queen of Housewives (2009)

Queen of Housewives
내조의 여왕
(Mar – May 2009)

who’s in it
Kim NamJoo (Her House)
Oh JiHo (Couple or Trouble, Chuno)
Lee HyeYoung (Dal Ja’s Spring)
Sun WooSun (Will It Snow at Christmas?)
Choi ChulHo (Woman Who Still Wants to Marry)
Yoon SangHyun (Take Care of My Lady)

what’s it about
Back in high school, Kim NamJoo had been the prettiest and most popular girl in school...but also the nastiest. No one liked her, although everyone pretended they did. She was that girl; such a mean spirited little thing that she even pursued a relationship with a guy (Choi ChulHo) out of a spiteful effort to teach her “ugly” friend Lee HyeYoung a lesson. But little did she realize, even the mousiest mouse will bite when cornered and when Kim NamJoo declared war on Lee HyeYoung by stealing that one guy, this pretty girl was really tempting cosmic comeuppance.

Much later, all those young girls have grown up and become settled women. Kim NamJoo is now married to Oh JiHo, a smart guy caught in a bad economy and struggling to find a job. His wife, once the queen bee of the high school hive, is quickly losing face with her rich circle of friends. Unable to take the embarrassment any longer, she takes matters into her own hands. She decides to actively manipulate efforts to get her man situated in a swank job at a powerhouse corporation called Queen Food. This ends up becoming more than a mere status elevating opportunity, however, when Kim NamJoo finds herself confronted with her past as she gets more involved in the behind-the-scenes social affairs of the Queen Food condo community and the housewives who rule there. The vengeful cast of her childhood comes back to haunt her and teach her some tough lessons in humility.

commitment 
20 episodes

network
MBC

first impressions
It was full of salacious venom from the very start, quickly establishing all the snarky main adversaries in this bitch fest. We get to know who’s who fairly easily—as they are all recognizable characters from our own immature youth, I imagine. With a title like Queen of Housewives it doesn’t take a great deal of imagination to make the association with the ABC primetime soap Desperate Housewives, and this kdrama does not disappoint in the comparison.

The production and the overall delivery of the show was pleasantly surprising, impressive in the acting and all-around snappy vibe. The protagonist was a stuck-up princess, yet we followed her story from the days of popularity to her fall from grace, instead of the more popular kdrama trend to follow the pitiful best friend’s inspiring struggle for success. We’ve seen Kim NamJoo’s character profile in many a kdrama, the villainous vixen who is petty, conniving, and vain...but rarely do we get to follow that vixen and see the fall out that we all know eventually comes for these types of characters. 

This oft not travelled angle brought some new crispness to the story. It held the same kind of topsy turvy appeal as perhaps Gregory McGuire’s Wicked, the Wizard of Oz revision that re-casted the Wicked Witch of the West as the sympathetic heroine. Like Wicked, we were taking a look at the same old [kdrama] story through the eyes of a different character. Sympathy has often been afforded for the “good witch” but now we’re exploring what makes the “bad witch” tick. A look at the greener more envious side of the coin, if you will.

wildcard
This was wildly successful when it aired. The mature cast really delivered and it rejuvenated a few careers, notably Yoon SangHyun’s, who was definitely a standout. And without a doubt, there was quite a bit of worthy eye candy, both female and male.

Hero (2009)

Hero
히어로
(Nov 2009 – Jan 2010)

who’s in it
Lee JunKi (Iljimae, Time Between Dog and Wolf)
Uhm KiJoon (World Within)
Yoon SoYi
Baek YoonShik (Harvest Villa)

what’s it about
If politicians represent the will of the people and the media serves as the voice of the people—what happens when things get lost in translation? In an ideal world, a politician is a servant of democracy and the role of the media is to be an unbiased watchdog for the truth, but society isn’t perfect and neither are the people in it. This is a truth of all nations, of course. Corruption cannot be denied, we must accept that pockets of wrongdoing must certainly exist in all areas of our modern life, especially in our politics, for we are all human beings and that makes us weak to greed, lust and jealousies. Certainly it is true that individuals can become corrupt but the landscape as a whole can still be free of dirt, but what if the problem is systemic? What happens when many powerful arms join forces in that breach of trust with the public they serve? Do they become unstoppable? If our world leaders, our press and our law moved against us as one unit to pursue their own agendas, would there any hope for the average citizen to find justice against them?

That is the question Lee JunKi finds himself facing in this comedy that wants to make you laugh, but also wants to ask some somber questions. Lee JunKi plays a struggling, celebrity-chasing tabloid reporter for Monday Seoul, but he has a dark past and yet a better reason for pursuing journalism, and it isn’t to hit on kpop idol hotties like KARA. When he unwittingly gets involved in the vengeful affairs between an organized crime boss just released from prison after 15 years and an old high school rival and fellow newspaper man, this paparazzi guy begins to realize it is time to remember why he became a reporter in the first place.

Opposite our goofy, rule-breaking reporter in every way, Yoon SoYi plays a straight-laced and conservative lieutenant of a criminal investigations unit who dislikes Lee JunKi on first sight. Needless to say, as their respective pursuit for the truth merge as one unified goal, these two realize there is a broad gap between the justice told to the public and the injustice that lies just behind that false screen.

commitment 
16 episodes

network
MBC

wildcard factor
This one’s a feel good drama that provides way too much expository dialogue...a lot of deep thinking is not required to follow along, as everything is spelled out every step of the way, and depending on your point of view, this can be considered a good thing or a bad thing. What would be a good comparison? I would say…it feels a lot like a satisfying Disney movie where good people go up against some really bad people, and against the odds, they are able to make a meaningful difference in the world.

first impressions
What is it with Lee JunKi and totally damaged characters hemorrhaging on the inside but smiling on the outside? I tell you what, I dunno and I don’t care why he gravitates toward these Robin Hood/Iljimae-esque roles because God bless him for it, as this is my favorite type of dark hero on him. He was pure melodramatic awesomeness in Time Between Dog and Wolf…here, he completely sheds that cool super spy image and adopts a less machismo one, a somewhat wimpy sort of fellow that isn’t his usual archetype. It’s impossible to ever completely forget that it’s Lee JunKi we’re watching, naturally, because Lee JunKi is Lee JunKi (I mean, it’s like someone handing you a piece of chocolate and telling you it’s supposed to be a zucchini), but for the first time I saw less of action A-List Hallyu superstar Lee JunKi and more of a normal guy, one that isn’t immune to moments of sniveling and cowardice. And I liked it.

I wasn’t a fan of this drama’s rather exaggerated start but I found the story of the abandoned crime boss and his quiet determination for justice rather mysterious enough to continue onto the second and third episodes. I was fairly positive I knew where this show was going, but it was engaging enough to keep me from turning it off. I’m not sure this one is for everybody, it certainly doesn’t feel like it’s going to be one of those change-my-life type of offerings, but I can see an abundance of heart about to come just around the corner.

Quickly, I will add, I wasn’t sure how I felt about last-minute-casting Yoon SoYi and her portrayal of the female detective as yet. I thought her performance was a little on the weak side, but she seemed capable enough to improve once she became more comfortable in the role…

Take Care of My Lady (2009)

Take Care of My Lady
아가씨를 부탁해
(Aug – Oct 2009)

who’s in it
Yoon EunHye (Goong, 1st Shop of Coffee Prince)
Yoon SangHyun (Queen of Housewives)
Jung IlWoo (Return of Iljimae)
Moon ChaeWon (Shining Inheritance)

what’s it about
Yoon SangHyun will try anything for money—whether it be preachin’ or playing the gigolo. He has a lot of debt and the loan sharks are out to get him. As for his domestic situation, he lives with Moon ChaeWon and her mother. What he doesn’t realize is that Moon, a good friend who he considers his little sister, is actually madly in love with him, made so obvious by the I-Secretly-Love-You googly eyes she shoots his way all the time. He’s a good guy but his debt problem is…well, a problem. When a Rich Grandfather wants to hire him to teach his Granddaughter Heir some manners, Yoon SangHyun takes the job with one eye on the prize: $$$. If the rich little girlie falls for him, that’s a big score! The young lady in question is none other than Yoon EunHye, essentially playing a Korean derivative of Paris Hilton.

Now, newly installed as her personal assistant-butler-chauffeur-babysitter, Yoon SangHyun forces and cajoles his way into her daily decision making and actually manages to have a positive effect on her personality. He’s feeling pretty good about his successes with her, that is until she asks him to take on the role of dating coach to woo a smart, non-profit civil rights lawyer played by Jung IlWoo, a man clearly not a part of her fashion and celebrity world. He’s out of her league (in that she’s not exactly book-smart or interested in human rights) but Yoon EunHye is immediately smitten by the handsome advocate precisely because he’s so out of her expertise. As formula would have it, when this main rival enters the picture, our leading man starts to question his own heart…and I imagine the answer is obvious to us all.

commitment 
16 episodes

network
KBS2

wildcard factor
Is the happy afterglow from 1st Shop of Coffee Prince still shining on you? Even farther back, how about Goong? What I’m asking is: how much do you love Yoon EunHye? How long have you been waiting for her comeback?

after the first episode
Oy vey. This is…painful to watch. How terribly disappointing.

Sons of Sol Pharmacy (2009)

Sons of Sol Pharmacy
솔약국집 아들들
(Apr – Oct 2009)

who’s in it
Son HyunJoo (Tazza, First Wives Club)
Lee PilMo (Woman Who Still Wants to Marry)
Han SangJin (Yi San, White Tower)
Ji ChangWook (Hero)
Yoo HaNa (First Wives Club)
Yoo Sun (Lobbyist, Sweet Spy)

what’s it about
Four handsome brothers, from oldest to youngest—

JinPung (played by Son HyunJoo) — a wholesome almost-40 pharmacist still carrying a torch for his high school sweetheart; she returns one day sporting/supporting an extended family and a secret.

DaePung (Lee PilMo) — childish pediatrician who spends his days womanizing but takes an instant shine to the new female neighbor, a cynical lawyer NOT charmed by him.

SunPung (Han SangJin) — vegetarian television news journalist who is an avid everything-rights activist who reluctantly finds himself drawn to a bubbly actress who also happens to be the daughter of his boss.

MiPung (Ji ChangWook) — the sensitive maknae (youngest) who prefers sewing with ahjummas instead of studying, to his mother’s disgust. He finds himself caring for his friend’s infant daughter when the single father gets called up for his mandatory military service.

The mother of these four perfect[ly nutty] sons wants to marry them off pronto. Not only is she sick and tired of feeding and coddling six baby boys (the tally including her husband and father-in-law) but wants some women in the house to help her with the chores. She is most especially peeved with her eldest who is getting ripe in the age without any suitable prospects. What’s wrong with her sons…why can’t they get themselves hitched???

A family drama, it carries a ginormous cast and spends lots and lots of time with all of them but these four men are the central focus. I will go ahead and give a brief intro for the ladies, however, as they are key figures, too. In order below are the matches for the men already listed above:

SooJin (played by Park SunYoung) — a successful corporate lawyer, she protects the softness within by putting up a tough façade but realizes it might be worth coming out of her hard tortoise shell when she meets the sweet pharmacist.

BokShil (Yoo Sun) — doormat-like nurse at DaePung’s pediatric clinic who, like everyone else, has her own secret to hide. Oh, yeah, she’s also madly in love with DaePung who has treated her like crap the entire time she’s worked for him. He’s more a DooDooPung to her.

EunJi (Yoo HaNa) — a perky but kind-hearted actress who has been raised like a treasured princess by her surrogate parents, but when her past comes back, she realizes she’d been living in a bubble.

SooHee (Kang EunBi) — when she comes back for her infant daughter who has now been placed in the care of the youngest son in the Song family, the irresponsible young mother ends up living with them in order to get her life back on track.

Oh, the long, long, long convoluted road this drama will traverse until we get to the end where the predestined couples will get together...

commitment 
54 episodes

network
KBS2

wildcard factor
A weekend family drama with lots of characters, some infinitely more lovable than others.

after the first episode
Fun. I especially enjoyed the vegetarian tv journalist who was so dorky but cuddly, like a manly teddy bear. His match, the equally dorky and cuddly actress, was the kind of character that made you smile.

The brothers together were also a kick in the pants to watch…four grown men who regress into four little boys when together. Pretty funny.

Story of a Man (2009)

Story of a Man
남자이야기 / Slingshot
(Apr – Jun 2009)

who’s in it
Park YongHa (On Air)
Kim KangWoo (Five Senses of Eros - film)
Park SiYeon (My Girl)
Han YeoWoon (Painter of the Wind)

what’s it about
Park YongHa’s older brother commits suicide after a smear campaign against his food processing company, orchestrated by Kim KangWoo, a sociopath manipulating the stock market in an effort to take over his father’s company. After attacking the television station that aired the false report on his brother’s company, Park YongHa gets thrown into the slammer. When he comes out, he’s got only one thing on his mind: revenge. He teams up with an assortment of cons in an effort to attempt the greatest gimmick of all time—justice.

commitment 
20 episodes

network
KBS2

wildcard factor
I’m not exaggerating when I say that Kim KangWoo was insanely creepy as the emotionless nutjob that yanked and pulled at everyone’s strings. He was a shark that blew everyone else out of the surf.

after the first episode
Ah, this one could be very interesting...and action packed! It seemed to have a good setup for a story that could really grow into a feverish, melodramatic but exciting joyride.

IRIS (2009)

IRIS
아이리스
(Oct – Dec 2009)

who’s in it
Lee ByungHun (All In, The Good, The Bad, The Weird - film)
Kim TaeHee (Love Story In Harvard)
Jung JoonHo (Last Scandal)
Kim SoYeon (The Grand Chef)
TOP (I Am Sam, member of Big Bang)

what’s it about
Lee ByungHun and Jung JoonHo first become friends during their basic training days in the military. Eventually, the duo is recruited into a supersecret spy network called NSS, not too dissimilar from agencies like the CIA, NSA or MI5 in concept…except this place is highly classified and their technology does not utilize spellcheck for English words (heh, I tease). Both men fall in love with Korea’s national hottie Kim TaeHee, a fellow NSS agent, but only Lee ByungHun gets to go on vacay with her to Japan and totally score with her. Oh yeah, he wins her heart, too. Things go all to hell when a job in Hungary goes batsh*t wrong and Lee ByungHun finds himself on the run, alone, and allied with North Korean spy Kim SoYeon, who is totally smokin’ hot! All of this has something to do with IRIS, another supersecret organization that has TOP on their payroll, who not only has killer looks, he has a killer gun. You know, because he kills with his gun—like literally, with lead bullets.

commitment 
20 episodes

network
KBS2

wildcard factor
Lee ByungHun
Kim TaeHee
TOP (of hip-hop idol group Big Bang)

after the first episode
Soooo…this was what all the hype was about...flashy (check)…slick (check)…big names(check)...expensive-looking (check). It definitely had a Bourne Supremacy flair about it and…

Boys Over Flowers (2009)

Boys Over Flowers
꽃보다 남자 / Boys Before Flowers
(Jan – Mar 2009)

who’s in it
Lee MinHo (Nonstop 5, I Am Sam)
Goo HyeSun (King and I, Strongest Chil Woo)
Kim HyunJoong (member of SS501)
Kim Bum (High Kick Through The Roof, Dream)
Kim Joon (member of T-Max)
Kim SoEun (He Who Can't Get Married)

what’s it about
Follows a quad of over-priviledged prep school boys who call themselves “F4,” students who spend less time studying and more time harassing their schoolmates, kids they consider more peasants of their fiefdom than their peers. The leader of this tyrannical group is played by Lee MinHo; when he one day trips across an obstacle in the form of short-stuff Goo HyeSun and this charity case throws his life into chaos when she starts attending his school, challenging his authority and, last but not least, falls for his best friend, Kim HyunJoong. Boys is based on the Japanese manga Hana Yori Dango which has enjoyed tremendous success in various formats including an anime series and Japanese drama as well; Boys doesn’t stray too far from the source material…and yet, at the same time, it gallops like a madman so very, very far away.

commitment 
25 episodes

network
KBS2

wildcard factor
I don’t even know where to start for this one. There are so many reasons why you might fall head over heels crazy for this drama…and also so many reasons why you may hate it with a passion unparalleled. There seems to be no middle ground for this one, opinions are passionate and firm.

But here are four reasons why you may like it:

Lee MinHo – hotness

Kim HyunJoong – hotness

Kim Bum – hotness

Kim Joon – hotness

There you go, all the members of F4 in their hot volcanic glory. This drama launched all their careers in the way Park JiSung has launched Manchester United in Korea. Let’s face it, the dazzling beauty of a well-designed male form can blind a girl to anything, even the burning hole where a coherent plotline should have existed.

Also, I’d be neglect if I didn’t mention the great chemistry between Kim SoEun and Kim Bum.

Kim SoEun quite literally stole the entire show from right under Goo HyeSun’s pouty nose. Fans loved F4 and they loved the sidekick best friend Kim SoEun…the love for Goo HyeSun, however, was lukewarm bathwater at best.

after the first episode
I loved it. I really did. It was fun, funny and I believe I did mention all the hot men that catwalked around in the series.

You're Beautiful (2009)

You're Beautiful
미남이시네요
(Oct – Nov 2009)

who’s in it
Jang GeunSuk (Hong Gil Dong, Beethoven Virus)
Park ShinHye (Stairway To Heaven, Tree of Heaven)
Lee HongKi (member of FT Island)
Jung YongHwa (member of CN Blue)

what’s it about
What happens when the heavens and the flashy brightness of kpop collide? Well, I’ll tell you, You’re Beautiful happens! And it is a wonderful fantasy land, my friends, an unrealistic but completely perfect place where idol angels sing and cook and flit around grocery stores in the middle of the night doing darling things with commercially freeze-packed products (get your mind out of the gutter, it’s not like that – yeah, you got me, I wish it were, too). 

In this dazzling universe, popular kpop male idol group A.N.Jell is looking to add a new member to lend some harmonizing help to their vocally strained lead(er) singer’s voice, played by the one and only gorgeous Jang GeunSuk, who’s [real life] mother may have given birth to him and put him on this planet just so he could play this role. Back to the drama: turns out, their newly recruited member is actually out of the country for the time being and gets secretly replaced with his twin sister, but she’s not just any girl! No, no, no, she's a girl completely unfit to be an idol. She’s a pure and earnest yet endearingly naïve and clumsy Park ShinHye who has been cloistered away all her life in preparation to become a nun. She has no familiarity whatsoever with the Korean pop music world (or the real world in general, for that matter). Now, if you are also unfamiliar with kpop, I assure you, pretty boy idol bands like A.N. Jell are all the rage in the K-music industry right now.

After rounding out the last two members of A.N.Jell with equally gorgeous Lee HongKi of real idol group F.T. Island and bright new star Jung YongHwa, of recently debuted [real] idol band C.N. Blue, we got ourselves the settings for a pretty delectable looking plate of kdrama protein, baby!

commitment 
16 episodes

network
SBS

wildcard factor
This is a Hong sisters kdrama which may or may not mean anything to you depending on how religiously you follow such things.

If it doesn’t mean anything to you, I give you Jung YongHwa as your wildcard factor for this one. These days, I have a personal soft spot for Jang GeunSuk and am prefering his brand of hotness, but I don’t think I’d be grossly exaggerating by saying that the C.N. Blue crooner/melodic-semi-rapper named YongHwa seemed to know what the ladies want because he robbed a lot of them of something precious: their sanity. A disturbing lot were stolen, yes indeed.

after the first episode
When I first heard about this drama and its ‘concept’ of Boys Over Flowers in the idol world, I really didn’t intend on watching it, much less enjoy it. I did, however, take into consideration that Jang GeunSuk is a pretty decent actor and was curious enough about his accepting a pretty boy idol role when it seemed in the past he’d shied away from characters that wanted to highlight or cash in on his pretty face.

What did I think after the first few episodes? If it’s not already annoyingly obvious, let me put it another way: I vowed never to judge another kdrama by its cover and at least give them all a go for no less than 3 episodes before laying down the judgmental hammer. The thought that I might have missed this gem really made me anxious…and wonder, seriously wonder, How many other secret little pieces of magical-unicorn-fairy-dust-leprechaun-gold drizzled kdrama candy have I let slip through the cracks due to my narrow-minded pigheadedness? It worried me, the ramifications of this--this novel idea that books really shouldn’t be judged by their cover…because come on now, who doesn’t do that!?

Shining Inheritance (2009)

Shining Inheritance
찬란한 유산 / Brilliant Legacy
(Apr – Jul 2009)

who’s in it
Lee SeungGi (1N2D, Strong Heart, singer)
Han HyoJoo (Spring Waltz, Iljimae)
Bae SuBin (Painter of the Wind)
Moon ChaeWon (Take Care Of The Young Lady)

what’s it about
Let’s meet the contenders in the ring, shall we? On the one side, we have Han HyoJoo, who we immediately learn is a dedicated and good-hearted soul, one that is looking for her autistic younger brother who disappeared shortly after her father’s death, where she also suffered financial betrayal by her stepmother and stepsister (step-villains strike again!). She’d once lived a comfortable life but now she’s just a regular schmette like the rest of us trying to get by in this toiling world (schmette: female version of schmoe). In the other corner, we have the lightweight champion and her rival, Lee SeungGi, yes, the chipmunk-cheeked cutie-patootie Lee SeungGi of variety and ballad-crooning fame, who is in fact not so pleasant a guy in this drama. Still good-looking, check, just not so much on the inside, which I hear some people still think is important. I don’t know those people either (I joke). These two fated-foes vie for some major inheritance cashola that Lee SeungGi thinks should rightfully be his, you know, like, cuz he was born. If you think this sounds vaguely too vague yet familiar, it’s because you’ve seen a million variations of it in every context, genre, and language imaginable, it’s called Cinderella. Always a winning formula, though. However, no singing mice in this version. Shoot.
commitment 
A loooooong 28 episodes that the plot was not able to completely support

network
SBS

wildcard factor
SBS - they have the best dramas that have been airing lately, in my opinion. Even when the synopsis sounds rather hokey on paper, they manage to make it watchable. Possibly because the drama productions they choose don’t seem to be constantly chasing after a deadline already past.

after the first episode
I didn’t completely buy Lee SeungGi’s bad boy act in the beginning and, I don’t know, is it just me or does Han HyoJoo always play the same character? It’s baffling that its come to this, but I’ve seen A LOT of her work...and I’ve yet to become her fan. She works with a lot of handsome actors, this one. Lucky girl.

He Who Can't Marry (2009)

He Who Can’t Marry
결혼 못하는 남자
(Jun – Aug 2009)

who’s in it
Ji JinHee (Dae Jang Geum)
Uhm JungHwa (singer)
Yoo AhIn (Strongest Chil Woo, Antique Bakery - film)
Kim SoEun (Boys Over Flowers)

what’s it about
An obsessive compulsive and neurotic, megalomaniac architect falls in love with a doctor who mourns the fact that she’s past her twenties and still single in a society that prefers couples (hey, it’s the plot of the drama, i’m not making social commentary here).  Lucky for the really rude and socially deficient butthead architect, he happens to look a lot like Ji JinHee and fills out a pair of tight trousers rather nicely, and therefore stands a fighting chance with the hot doc with major insecurity issues.

commitment
16 (but feels more like 24)

network
KBS2

wildcard factor

Yoo AhIn and Kim SoEun’s major awesome cuteness

after the first episode

Really pretty pleased–there was so much potential! Shows that start the plot going by introducing unconventional leads are always attention grabbers for me. The main character was wonderfully obnoxious and different from the usual kdrama leading men archetypes, and attractive in a peculiar way, perhaps not unlike Gregory House’s prickly appeal in popular U.S. show House that featured a cranky pants doctor who was often socially obnoxious. Also, Uhm JungHwa didn’t make my stomach turn as the female lead and seemed an appropriate match for the crazy architect, so that was a plus.

Invincible Lee Pyung Kang (2009)

Invincible Lee Pyung Kang
천하무적 이평강 / Taming of the Heir
(Nov – Dec 2009)

who’s in it
Nam SangMi (Time Between Dog and Wolf, The Grand Chef),
Ji HyunWoo (Over The Rainbow, My Sweet Seoul),
Seo DoYoung (Spring Waltz, Friend Our Legend)

what’s it about
Six feet and a gangly ditz, the heir to a financially struggling golf resort comes back to Korea to find his sick father has shacked it up with his ambitious secretary and, as Beyonce advised, put a ring on it. Kicked to the poverty curb by his new step-bro and step-mum who think he’s a colossal loser, he finds himself bunking at a chicken-boilin’ hostel with the daughter of a golf course designer, his resort’s late golf course designer, that is. Naturally, he makes a nuissance of himself and gets all up in Lee Pyung Kang’s grill, which the title of the drama leads one to believe Lee Pyung Kang (played by Nam SangMi) may be a significant character.

commitment
Typical rom-com 16 episoder

network
KBS2

wildcard factor
Each episode started or ended with a “not-funny-I-don’t-know-what-the-point-of-these-are” sections depicting a sageuk spin on the main couple’s story, presumably this was their past lives…or whatever…who cared, I sure didn’t. I imagine the weird additions were done in an effort to clip some unique onto a show burdened with a somewhat generic premise, but it only highlighted the latent cheese factor present throughout the series.

after the first episode
Felt a little like newly cut bangs on your forehead…irritating but couldn’t help but sorta like being tickled by the way it fell, kinda fun and fluttery.