City Hall (2009)

I have this rule when watching a drama that if I am not happy with the first 4 episodes I will stop watching it. The fact that I personally don't like politics and the female lead is not pretty on the official photo of the drama added up to my hesitation on watching this. I was planning to do it on this drama as well but I decided to add 1 more episode and I did not regret it.

The way they presented politics in this drama is I believe a part of reality. However, it didn't made me hate politics more but made me understand it instead. The story is not only focused on politics though, it is also full of romance. you will really fall in love with their love story.

The cast is perfect too. Shin Mi Rae's transformation from a secretary to mayor is outstanding. Their chemistry is really great. Plus they don't look like their age at all! Kim Sun ah is 36 but really pretty and Cha Seung Won is 44 but still dashing.

Music is also good. it made you feel the scene's emotions more.

Do not pay attention to my rewatch value for I don't really rewatch dramas :)

Bottom line, its all worth it! I recommend this drama :)

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A seamless fusion of romance and politics

City Hall is a great drama. I enjoyed watching it and especially love the way it merged politics with romance so seamlessly.

The story is very well conceived and deals with the issues of politics and love. The battle between honest and sincere politics versus politics driven by greed and unfair manipulation of one's opponents. The story portrays the redemptive path that Jo Gook walks to become his best self with the help of Shin Mi Rae; whilst also showing us how a person who is sincere, honest and loving can achieve great heights despite having many social and educational shortcomings.

I cannot emphasise enough how great the casting and acting is in this drama. Kim Sun Ah plays this role for all it and she is worth, she IS Shin Mi Rae; she embodies the role so perfectly that it is very easy and natural to cheer her on and see things from her perspective.
Cha Seung Won is as great as always, he has a unique ability to blend comedy with serious drama in a way that is not jarring and is empathic.
I enjoyed watching these two consummate professionals do such a wonderful job with this script, they conveyed the emotion in such an authentic way it was often breathtaking.
The supporting cast is very well placed and enhanced the story effectively.

The music is great, emotional, meaningful and apt. I loved how all the lyrics spoke to what was happening in the story and just added that extra layer of emotional atmosphere to the drama.

I will definitely be watching this drama in the future, without a doubt!

My overall score is 9. The only reason I haven't given it a 10 is because subjectively It didn't affect me quite the same way other shows have which I have rated 10, like I say this is entirely subjective.
I can't say any more about the show than I already have, it's the kind of show you have to experience for yourself, it's so real and all-encompassing that a review doesn't really do it justice; WATCH IT! PLEASE!

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To say that this is a romantic comedy set against a political backdrop is a matter of perspective.

City Hall, for me, paints a typical--if not accurate--picture of Asian countryside politics from the petty to the scheming bureaucracy and party politics, then taking it up a notch by touching on national politics and slowly intertwining it with a meaningful love story that develops into the fore.

WARNING: potential spoilers up ahead!

Shin Mi Rae is a 10th grade civil servant who, after winning a contest, finds herself being the victim of Inju's swindling city government. Mi Rae, indignant about this injustice, initiates a self-serving one-person protest until it becomes a city-wide issue. Mi Rae realizes that her issue is one among many of those being ignored by the government and through her efforts have gained the support of Inju constituents.

Jo Guk, son of a legendary figure in politics, have grand ambitions of running for national office however because his father's wishes, he grudgingly comes to Inju where his father wants to implement an elaborate plan in order hoist himself back into the political arena.

Both leads, although romantically linked, tackled substantial issues: on women, on livelihood, on farming, on employment, on social services, on elections, even on big businesses investing in a small unknown town. And this is what makes it a cut above your ordinary rom-com: it's not all lovey-dovey.

Although the story's treatment of these issues can seemingly be simplified and leaning on the melodramatic, you can still find little bits of truth in every issue presented in City Hall. And what I appreciate about this is the fact that it's love story develops at the second half and how it strikes a balance between love and politics. Thus, viewers get to see how Mi Rae and Jo Guk develop their romance from disgust and awkwardness to curiously interesting and becomes a love that's tugging-at-your-sleeve-and-asking-for-some-attention.

Acting - Dynamite! Kim Sun Ah, Cha Seung Won and the rest of the cast are dynamite! A remarkable and note-worthy performance goes to Yoon Se Ah's portrayal of Go Go-Hae--her acting was so flawless that I wanted to slap her!

Music - Although limited, there are some likable tunes that fit into hilarious moments as well as the more subdued ones.

Rewatch value - Odd. You might ask why a 7. Some might find it an easy rewatch, but personally, this is not the type I'd rewatch anytime soon.

At the overall, City Hall maintains a high 9.

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You know, there's those dramas that you always hear about, like Boys Over Flowers, Sam-Soon, Coffee Prince, You're Beautiful, Princess Hours, Full House, My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, etc etc etc. Some of them deserve their popularity, some don't, all depending on who you talk to. And then there are the dramas you really don't hear much about except maybe one or two voices in the wilderness singing their praises and you just can't understand why. In my opinion, this is one of them. Not to hype it up too much if you haven't seen it yet, but it is really, really, really good.



Unlike others, the political aspect actually is one of the main things (besides Kim Sun Ah) that attracted me to the drama. But I watched the first episode and it looked like it was going to be a ho-hum rom com with an exceedingly silly heroine and jerk "hero". After finishing Greatest Love, I just couldn't get enough of Cha Seung Won and I'm falling head over heels for Kim Sun Ah in Scent of a Woman, so I decided to give it another go. At about episode 3 or 4 I was completely hooked and lost sleep so I could finish it.



To get the negatives out of the way, the cinematography is nothing to write home about and I just flat out did not like any of the music. It wasn't to the point of being offensive to the senses so thankfully I could ignore it for the most part, but it added nothing to the drama.



And that's pretty much it as far as negatives go. The entire bloody cast is absolutely perfect in every role. The episodes flow smoothly, really no dragging parts that I recall, and this show keeps a person absolutely hooked. Kim Sun Ah's character is amazing and inspiring! If you're turned off by her character in the beginning, keep watching. Both leads go through so much fantastic growth and have so much depth. When I started I thought 20 episodes seemed a bit much, but then when the end came I couldn't believe it was already here! Speaking of the end, it does not disappoint. Anyway, stop reading reviews and go watch this drama already!

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Story- Not your conventional kdrama. This is very politically driven which didn't appeal to me a first. I got to say though you will learn a lot about politcs. The drama offers many hilarious moments and many frustrating moments as well. This adds to the obsession factor. However, There's a couple of episodes when they are running for the elections which made me lose interest so I had to take off 1 point for that. Awesome ending!

Acting/Cast- Kim Sun Ah really really impressed me here. I did not like her in Kim Sam Soon so I was weary about her role in this drama. Man I was so shocked that she was hilarious and likeable. The growth of her character was really great to watch. Cha Sung Won was very charismatic and sly in his role. I really became a fan of his in this. Both leads had sizzling chemistry. The supporting cast was a bit annoying at times but they were great.

Music- Only a couple of songs in this one. The theme song will get in your head forever LOL.

Rewatch- Because of the OTP was so intense I definitely could watch this twice a year.

Overall- Unexpectedly amazing show which you will watch more than once.

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For some reason, since I've began watching dramas, dramas that have been created more than 6 years ago just seem to have so much more sincerity and authenticity to the story and the actors' portrayal of the characters. City Hall is not an exception to this phenomenon, truly a gem among the many dramas that have been released. Cha Seung Won and Kim Sun Ah have created such beautiful chemistry and evoked so much emotion through this drama. It was an easy drama to watch especially since I was looking for a good drama to watch. City Hall definitely blew all my expectations away in that the story and the characters' responses gave it such a humane element. I'm not good at writing and expressing the emotions I have for this drama, but it definitely made it into my top 10. At times you will feel frustration, pain, confusion, anger, fear, and everything, but this is what makes it a good drama. If you're looking for an easy but drama with substance, this is definitely worth the watch.

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Lessons in Leadership

I was debating If I should give it a 10. The only reason I took away 0.5 point because the script writer in my opinion could have done a better job from a story telling point view. If you enjoy dramas with some life lessons to remember and to live by, I highly recommend this drama. For example, victim vs. responsibly, power of forgiveness, and when one thinks that they can't go any further they still go. I was touched with all these points in this wonderful drama.

The drama was set in a political landscape where FL shows up as a true leader and stand firm in her convictions. It was very effective to see her vulnerabilities and , emotional pain as she suffered through public opinion and physical abuse. The most memorable scene is when she was along and being pelted with eggs.

She was a reluctant hero. She didn't want to be a mayor but that is how sometimes life works. Many times in life, right people show up to push one in a direction that is a life changing event. In this case it was also true for Shin Mi Rae.

Another lesson learned was how she was able to forgive those who victimized her and eventually won their support. She didn't allow her personal feelings to get in the way of getting the job done and hiring the right people for the job. I think that is mark of true leadership. In other words .. "sometimes it is not about me!!".

In this drama ML also had his hangups and grew by watching FL. Very rarely I see both FL & ML transform. Usually either FL or ML acts as a support for the other transform. In this case they both transformed from their experience and taught each other. For me, it was very moving.

As I indicated earlier the author could have tied the ending a little better. For example, I didn't get councilor woman Min Joo Hwa's transformation from self-centered to a giving woman. Similarly, how did an evil corporation turned their evil plan to a benevolent entity.

Finally, my tribute to Kim Sun Ah.. I think she is an amazing actress. She easily conveys so many emotions without saying a single word!!. My acknowledgement to other actors .. I think they all did an amazing job.

I am sad that this drama ended because of binge watching!!

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i thought of seeing this because of kim sun ah..she's an actress whom i liked in previous dramas..having no expectation i sat down to watch it and it didnt take me by surprise..this is a fairly good drama with enough problems to keep us etertained..i didnt like the heroine in the starting 10 episodes but in the later episodes shin mi rae grew on me

i didnt much like the chracter of the hero in the starting but even he grew up on me and at the last episode i was sold for the guy.Cha Seung won did a good job here.the chemistry between the leads is good.the romance part was handled well

everbody acted their parts well and i loved the political twist to the story.this was a refreshin drama after all the dramas i've seen.it brought something new to my plate and left me happy.the story had enough angst and light moments to keep everything in balance.i loved the subplots in this one.the story was amazing.our heroine was an independent women who knew her place in the world.she differed from the stereotypical korean heroine that i am getting bored off.its nice to watch once in a while a woman who knows how to stand up for herself
i loved shin mi rae who was ready to sacrifice her own happiness for the society.she is one character where we wish we could be as upright and as strong as her.

the only problem hard to swallow was how this middle aged,average looking totally dumb woman changed into this woman who was so strong and full of life.this sudden change was too sudden for me.a person's personality doesnt change that much.even in fictional world

the story does drag in between..it took me almost 7 episodes to get interested to this one but after 13..this drama becomes like a rollercoaster ride where i didnt know what turn it was gona take

the songs were good but repeated so often that at the end i jst wanted them to stop playing it.
i gave it a fair rewatch value because of kim sun ah who's made Shin mi rae so unforgettable
overall it was a refreshing drama..a good one for those who like a political twist to their romance

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I have been watching drama for at least 10years and City Hall is still my No. 1. After so many years, it is still under my ALL TIME FAVOURITE. I don't know how many times I've rewatched it but I'll still miss it. I purposely give my 1st comment to this drama as I know I won't forget which drama I gave my 1st comment to in future..

I love Comedy Romance and I think that a great drama should consists of awesome script, cast, OST..etc which City Hall has it all. The chemistry, comedy and romance between the leads are really DAEBAK plus OST which I believe tailored to this drama made it so PERFECT that I have to rate it a 10.

I admit that the politics in the drama was still ?? to me but City Hall definitely worth a watch. Though it is an old drama, I still recommend friends to watch it. Due to this drama, I ever think it will be great that if I have the power to erase my memory after watching drama so that I can rewatch it and 'feel' the whole drama again and again. I highly recommend City Hall.

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