Fashion King (2012)

I gave myself a total of two months before writing this review. Why? Because the ending will make you hate it. But after these two months I took a step back and looked at the whole show. And wow, it was really good. Actors played their parts very very well. Plot development was amazing. The music...wow..the music, the OST has a spanish swing to it that just sticks in your head. I have to talk about character development here, because that is what it comes down to and what people hate the ending for. Character development is very key in this drama. Characters were depicted perfectly as greedy, jealous, self-living, spineless, backstabbing people left and right. Each episode developed the conflict further and further (which could have just been solved by taking to each other, but that doesn't happen in Kdrama land). Until a boiling point is reached and the last episode shows the reality of the Fashion world and that its not always pretty. (which is why people hated the show)

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First off, kudos to Yoo Ah In and Lee Jee Hoon for each having eye candy take-your-shirt-off scenes.

The acting for the rest of the cast was at least commendable, except for Se Kyung who was mostly crying or running back to Young Gul with that expressionless face of hers.

There were too many loose ends here that half way through the drama, it felt like they were writing an entirely new script.

I feel that Jae Hyuk was one of the most believable character in this drama. He is a young chaebol with a tyrant father who beats the sh*t out of him and a typical rich mother who constantly meddles with his love life. He is a confident and arrogant businessman who wants to be at the top of the fashion industry but always stops short at meeting his father's expectations.

At least, I understand why he would fall in love with the helpless, absent-minded and doe-eyed Ga Young because he feels that with all the pressures in his life, there is one thing that he is capable of, and that is his to help Ga Young reach her dreams of becoming a top designer and in turn this gives him strength.

Young Gul, however is an emotionally unstable, struggling designer cum knock-offs factory owner and a greedy, conniving and deceitful man who feels that rich people like Jae Hyuk has the moral obligation to help him every time he is short in cash. The depiction of his character is so extreme that I don't think anybody else can pull it off other than Yoo Ah In.

The entire runaway from thugs because you bedded the boss' woman and be an illegal migrant to America part is just so crazily random that it doesn't add to anything in the drama.

I think that the fierce competition between Jae Hyuk and Young Gul's businesses and Ga Young's love would have suffice as the main reason why they want to kill each other.

Anna and Jung Ah are the worst antagonists everrr. Thank heavens for the crazy woman aunt and the sadistic rich father!

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In summary, if you are looking for a satisfying romance (and by satisfying I do not necessarily mean it should have a happy ending), you should definitely go elsewhere. If you are looking for something dark and thought provoking, I think that might have been what they were going for, but it's been done better.


It started off interesting, if cliched (your typical Cinderella-esque story)

BUT, there were more characters and storylines than the writers or the cast really knew what to do with, and in trying to do justice to all they really did justice to none.

They dropped hints that they never picked up, and generally lead the viewer to believe there was more meaning than there ever ended up being. I think it was this promise of something that led so many people to the last episode, and the utter failure to deliver that has inspired so many negative reviews.

The ending was shocking, but in a better crafted drama it would have worked. It never pretended to be a rom-com, so a nice neat happy ending was unnecessary, but at the same time it only ever played at being the kind of dark drama it tried to become at the end. In this case it felt like a cop-out, like the writers simply couldn't find any other way out of the quagmire they'd created. Like they thought the shock value alone would make everyone forget all of the loose ends, and the fact that basically every character was stripped of any respect or redeeming character traits. Like the ending alone would somehow make it profound and thought provoking.

All it did, and not just the final minutes, but the absurd pacing of the entire final episode, was highlight the flaws up until that point. The drama was at the same time repetitive and inconsistent, unbearably long and at the same time rushed, a mess of contradictions that did not work in its favor.

In the end it tries to be too many things and succeeds at none.

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Underdog story as an old-fashioned melodrama in the cutthroat world of fashion.

The main characters are pathetic—that you need to know first. If you're drawn to easily likable characters you can root for, this might not be the right choice. The lack of communication didn't annoy me as much as I expected, and overall, the drama was pretty easy to handle. Personally, I had a lot of fun with it (not that it was always a good mood), but your experience may vary.

From the start, it was obvious this was a melodrama—mixing picaresque, noir, comedy, dark humor, makjang, and romance (not your typical love square). The drama carries a sly, cunning flow that won’t appeal to everyone. While some may find it frustrating, I found it really entertaining overall. Then some people say it's a mess, but isn't it the point? Anyway, I also enjoyed how theatrical it was.

The beginning is straightforward, setting the tone perfectly. The story may drag at times, but if you're invested or ready to fully grasp its depth, you'll see why. Character development is key in this drama. At times, looking back, I found myself impressed—especially by the end.

Hands down, one of the best OSTs: a mix of old-school techno, classical music with a Spanish swing, and great songs.

The cinematography is surprisingly thoughtful. At first, the saturated colors sharply contrast the bright, beautiful world of the rich. However, as the narrative unfolds, the colors gradually soften, mirroring the drama's evolving tone.

All in all, loved the overall vibe—both fitting for its time and uniquely distinct. It remained firm and snob.

Shin Se Kyung is well-praised in Korea, though she has her share of critics here. Personally, I find her acting natural and sophisticated. While you don’t have to love her or her roles/dramas, she’s admired for her personality, intelligence, beauty, and subtle delivery. Her tone, nuanced expressions, and command of the Korean language are often deemed perfect. In fact, she’s even considered a Sageuk queen due to her voice and expertise in the genre. She's my second favorite actress, and I really appreciate how she sensibly portrays her characters in such a genuine way.

Kwon Yuri, as an idol making her acting debut, did a commendable job as the classy Choi Anna. I respect idols who venture into acting, and while her role may not have been the most challenging, she performed well. Some criticize her for a monotone, repetitive demeanor, but I found it fitting for the character she portrayed.

Unsurprisingly, Yoo Ah In and Lee Je Hoon faced no criticism. I think the casting was perfect for this drama. About the fashion, I also really appreciated how each of them were dressed, following closely the narrative once again. Old K-Dramas are known for their questionable fashion, but I mostly liked it here.

Don't go into this drama expecting to cry your eyes out—you won't. I don’t think it’s meant to evoke that level of emotion. Maybe I teared up and shed a few tears, but to be honest, that’s coming from someone who cries easily when watching shows.

At its core, the real struggle is mostly between the men.

In the end, Fashion King presents an unconventional story about humanity and society, ultimately conveying the hopelessness of class conflict and what capitalism can do to a person.

Reality, as we all know, can be even stranger and more wicked—more unfair—than the cruel and ugly scenarios depicted in the drama. Clearly, the fashion industry isn't an exception where everything has to be pretty. The conflict builds like a crescendo, intensifying until it reaches a boiling point.

Be sure to check out my comment under the review, where I dive into the ending.

Version of the opening that was not where I watched it : https://youtu.be/5GDVpO1bWoM - I also uploaded the one from Viki.

Teaser : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtNDnfaM8TA (If you're looking for a teaser with actual content from the drama, MDL has a high-quality one.)

Thank you for reading !

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Despite the fact that this show is not over yet I thought I need to write this review.

In mine opinion this drama is about how money can change a person and that someone with morbid ambition is not a person to be taken lightly.

Acting is really impressive, we can actually see how the characters grow. Writers created characters that we can fall in love with them in one episode and disfavor them in the next. I could feel actual despair in the beginning of the show from Yoo Ah In, but now mine eyes see only Lee Je Hoon. His performance hit me so hard, I can really see how innocent he really is. I wish that Shin Se Kyung regain her spine in the end and choose right.

Music is awesome! One of mine favorite soundtrack. Especially "Standstill". Fashion is the main lead in this drama and it's strange as fashion should be I think ;) woman clothes are great I must admit, but as for the guys. Why do they enjoy wearing to short pants I really can't understand! Kim Byung Ok is just supporting role but he is indeed something, I can feel fashion from him, truly and artistically in his profession.

Fashion King is a very good drama with its ups and downs a long the way. Sometimes it was hard to watch it, but I'm still interested how it will end.

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This is getting a lot of negative reviews and I just don't get it. Maybe because the cast is young and beautiful they were expecting a sweet romance and they were disappointed.

This was a story about competition, greed and fear. And these actors gave us a heck of a emotional time. I've heard reviewers calling these characters bi-polar but I viewed them as desperate, willing to do anything to survive. There was no good guy vs bad guy. Both male leads did bad things and good things...they were very human. Young Gul was a tad too intense for my taste and I ended up rooting for Je Hyuk of the beautiful soulful eyes. (lol)
I admit that even I was complaining about Ga young..but she is a young character only 21 so her actions weren't unusual.

I liked it..I especially liked the ending.. it was artistic and we are all talking about it...what more could a writer want?

P.S I only gave it a 7 because I'm a rom/com type girl :)

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I never like to be harsh about dramas, but I have watched many brilliant dramas so far and believed this drama would have something of substance to offer. The first several episodes promised a great plot, so I continued watching it. But as the episodes went on, the story began going in circles, the acting got faker and faker, and I literally began a tally for who I hated and who I felt pity for in each episode.

The ending was absolutely dreadful. The characters I originally liked, I ended up hating, especially Ga Young. There were so many loose ends, and the ending just could have been constructed much better! At least the cinematography was pretty, but maybe that was because there was no dialogue.

I do NOT recommend this drama, it's a waste of time and emotion.

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Oh. My. God.

I just finished this yesterday. After beginning the same day. I don't know why, I don't know how... but I watched every episode sequentially, one after the other, no breaks in between... I didn't eat, I didn't shower, I didn't step out of my room. This is the kind of addictive bad, alright? I knew this was bad as I watched it. But I didn't realize that this downright sucked until I finished it.

This thing is the s***. And I'm not saying that in a good way, because for me s*** means poop. And this should be crowned for being the biggest and smelliest poop out there. Where should I begin?

1. Story: sucked, big time. What in the world is this? Someone needs to get fired. There are no words to describe how bad it was. And there were some random events... oh my God. This story is like the horrendous soup my little brother once tried to make. He had a recipe, and as he began and gave me some sips to see how it was turning out, it was good. But as he progressed making the soup, he began to add every single thing in the refrigerator to make it tastier and more original. And he failed. BIG TIME.

2. Lee Ga Young: I would've been more satisfied if what had happened to Young Gul at the end had happened to this idiot, too. Bella Swan called! She wants her stupidity back. This girl, the only thing she literally did was cry, cry, and bounce back from the two male leads.

3. Young Gul: I'm actually glad of his outcome. Am I the only one who hated him so much? His character was a complete idiot with a spark of motherf*****.

4. The clothes: this is supposed to be a fashion drama. Why in the world am I seeing so many tacky outfits? And I'm not going to use the excuse that I'm not Korean, and that that's why I'm not used to the fashion in this show. But from other dramas I've seen, where I've loved the fashion, I can come to the conclusion that there was no fashion sense in here... AT ALL. Anna was the only one whose style I liked.

5. The ending: The actual f***? I had read reviews for this, but I'd never come across the ending. So when I saw it I was laughing, shocked, amused, and mad at the same time. That was probably one of the most random things in this show.

Look, the first episode was good. I even found myself thinking that this drama wasn't as bad as people said it was.

But it was.

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In all honesty I didn’t manage to watch the last 2 episodes just because I read how it ended and I didn’t want to waste 2 more hours of my time on this mess…

Story- The beginning was great; very new stuff I hadn’t seen before and it remained that way till about half way in. Then the plot just stalled and the same repetitive situations just kept happening. There wasn’t any development or resolutions by the end. Speaking of the ending I didn’t watch it but read it and even that made me want to rip my hair out. Fortunately because I didn’t actually see what happened I didn’t lol. Still the writers had me coming back week after week and I never became bored to the point of skipping episodes or scenes.

Acting/Cast- The acting by the 4 leads was fabulous. Unfortunately for them their dialogue was so pointless, but I do applaud them for doing the best they could with what they were given. I was really impressed with newcomer Lee Je Hoon and hope to see him in a better drama next time. The supporting cast was great and served their purpose.

Music- matched the moody/dark themes of this show. It didn’t grab me enough to want to give it a listen outside of it though.

Rewatch- If the ending wasn’t so messed up I probably could have watched it again but yeah this is a no way in hell.

Overall Fashion King has an amazing lead cast but is overall disappointing in terms of development in story and characterization. Watch at your own risk!

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So, I start watching this drama, even thought I already know most of the people didn't like it. But I give it a try.

At first, everything seems like a normal drama. Nice actors, (the lead guy is really attractive and did a good job) and nice story... Really promising a good drama. And I really enjoy it until episode 16... Start them everything was in a opposite direction that we all excepted.

I have to say, the actress Shin Se Kyung could have done a better job. But I can't say if it was her fault or the character, Lee Ga Young, who was so weak.

The writers ruined the story (at least for me). They try to make something different from the usual. But I think they go to far... I still don't understand quite well the end.

So, if you read this and still want to watch it... Go for it! You may like it!

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I really liked the beginning of the drama but as it progressed, it dragged the story and was almost repeating what happened. I think all the actors did a great job playing their part which made me hate some of them but hey that's their job as an actor!! The only thing I liked was the actors, the story was just horrible and what happens later is unexpected but pointless. I feel like this drama could have been a lot better but they chose to do it how they did and it just ruined a possibly good drama. I would ONLY recommend this drama IF your favorite actor or actress is acting. If you are looking for a good story, go somewhere else. Don't waste your time watching this.

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When I begin to watch the drama I don't was agree with review but badly now i'm a little agree.

The story can be so good, we have good casting, espacially I really love two boy, Yoo ah in and Lee ji Hoon.

I think the problem, for me, was not in the plot but the length of drama. From episode 12 that was repetitive and a little boring.

The acting of the character Lee Ga Young ( I don't say the actress but the characters) was a little chiant, Lee Ga young don't evolved.

The music wasn't bad but not very good like OST of other drama, it's a popular OST and I don't very like.

Oww I the end... Too bad, it's impossible !! Why like that, why ??
It is too far-fetched, not realistic enough!

So I don't want to say anymore because i'm going to post spoiler and I don't want ...

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