Something New and Different

This drama takes a break from the normal "boy meets girl, they can't stand each other but fall in love anyway" theme. It is fantasy genre and takes the viewer into an imaginary world of grim reapers. It also tackles the very hard subject of suicide, mainly suicide prevention. Each episode is a different story, but woven into this is the main plot which culminates at the end. I thought this was very cleverly done by the writers and kept me glued to both the episode storylines, and the main plot.

What really jumped out at me in this drama is how well the casting was. The right actors were cast for the right parts, and lent such a strong believability to this fantasy story. The development of the main characters, their own personal storylines showing both their strengths and weaknesses, gave such richness to the overall drama. I finished wanting more. I loved the four main characters, and would love to see another season produced. I didn't get enough of Goo Ryun, Choi Joon Woong, Park Joon Gil, and Im Ryung Goo.

A piece of advice--have tissues handy as some of the episode storylines will squeeze your heart and having you bawling like a baby.

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You Only Have One Life to Live, So Be Happy

This Kdrama resonated with me in a significant way. I grew up in a single-parent family visiting my dad in the summers. He would always say to me, "What I want most for you is to be happy in life. If you ever find you are unhappy, figure out why and change it." This story embodied this same wisdom from my father.

I know there were many who found fault with this Kdrama. I'm not going to disagree with any as I respect people's right to their individual opinions. That said....here is my opinion. One of the best dramas in 2023.

First, it has a great storyline. You don't have to give in to parental and societal pressures, you can forge your own path. Gu Won and Cheon Sa Rang were individuals first who knew what they wanted in life, what was important, and made decisions that represented these values. They were authentic to themselves first then came together as a couple. A representation of a healthy relationship.

Second, employees help make companies great so they should be appreciated and rewarded as such. Instead of looking as people in a hierarchal-type of existence, see people in terms of their contribution towards the end goal and reward them for hard work. My favorite scene was when the employees of the smaller King hotel were seeing the space that would become the employee lounge. Also, Sa Rang's work on her own vision and dream of a hotel. I'm so glad the writers and producers gave a space in this story to the dream of a visionary woman.

Lastly, the acting was superb. Whether comedy, drama, vicious drama, action, or heartwarming scenes between friends, family, and lovers, the acting was superb. My favorite Korean actor is Lee JunHo. As always, the commitment he gives to the profession, whether its music, acting, modeling, or just being himself, is of the highest value, is exemplary, and worthy of respect. I also add Im Yoon Ah to this category as I was blown away by her performance. Their interaction was sublime and perfect. I also want to give respect to Kim Sun Young (she was so delightfully vicious, well done!!), Kim Dong Ha (such angst at such a young age), Go Won Hee and Kim Ga Eun (BFF's forever!!), Ah Se Ha (this story would not be a story without his comedic contribution), Kim Jae Won (the perfect boyfriend), Kim Young Ok (I have seen her in so many dramas and she is superb!!!), and lastly Son Byung Ho (he gave the perfect performance for someone who has lots of regrets). The acting in this drama was top-notch.

There have been many good dramas this year...one could almost dub 2023 as the year of great Kdramas. So far, King the Land is my favorite and what I consider the best drama of 2023. Congratulations to the writers, producers, actors, and production staff for this drama. Well done!!! I hope you were rewarded in a King the Land fashion because you deserve it!!!

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Sequel Needed

Outstanding mafia drama! Korea just created its own version of Al Pacino's Godfather with Vincenzo. Yes, you heard me right. I think Song Joong-ki has the right balance of good and evil in his Vincenzo character to create a mafia trilogy. What I enjoy about Korean productions is the overall story value and how it ebbs and flows. I look at the big picture. This had it all. Good vs. evil, with good prevailing, but just enough bad to take the sugary edge off, suspense, comedy, romance, characters you hated, characters you wanted to have a beer with, and those you want to see more of in future dramas. I don't live in Korea so I didn't succumb to the hype of this drama, so I didn't have any expectations going into it other than it was on a list of recommended dramas. I was blown away. I thought this was a superb production. As a foreigner, I kept pausing the drama and googling Seoul locations for filming different scenes. I know so much more about Seoul now than before, and have come away from these explorations with a respect for this great city. The actors were versatile and multi-dimensional, and I've added several to my list of favorite Korean actors. I hope there will be a sequel.

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Life is About the Connections and Relationships You Have With Others

It's been awhile since a Kdrama had me bawling like a baby, but this one did it. It will not end as you hope, but the ending is important. The entire storyline and message is a good one. Life isn't about status, money, prestige, or stuff. It's about the connections and relationships you make with others.

A very hurt boy...hurt by the stupidity and selfishness of parents...shuts down, puts up walls, and wanders through life cold and unfeeling. Only, really, he is feeling, but doesn't realize it until he is diagnosed with a fatal disease and not much time to live. Then he realizes the relationships in life that are important to him, so he pursues these relationships relentlessly. The viewer is taken on an adventure of his last days. He finds his lost love, he finds his true father, he finds the people in his life that love and care for him, and can die feeling good about his life even though he put on an act of being aimless and cold for so much of it.

Thank you to the screenwriter, Jo Young, for this wonderful and important story. The actors were amazing. This was a very emotional drama, and there were scenes that could not have been easy to film. But they were amazing, especially Woo Do Hwan, Lee You Mi, Oh Jung Se (a favorite of mine since It's Okay to not be Okay), Kim Min Soek, and Lee El. The production value was high, the story flowed well from scene to scene and kept the viewer engaged with the storyline. The filming was sublime, the scenery was beautiful, the music score was top notch. I loved, loved, loved that Alex Landi was part of the story!! I've been a fan of his since Grey's Anatomy, and I hope to see him in more dramas.

I have to give a special note about the last scene. The Jeep all alone on the highway driving into the sunset with the music playing reminded me of the See You Again music video paying tribute to the death of Paul Walker of the Fast and Furious franchise. The car he was driving heading off alone on the highway into the sunset as the music was playing. It is sad, bittersweet, but also gives a sense of closure, as the viewer senses that a life was not in vane, but complete... when one lives as they dreamed.....excuse me....I need a Kleenex....sniffle, sniffle! I highly recommend this Kdrama!

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Welcome to Kdramal-ri--stay awhile, you will enjoy this!

This is what good Kdramas are all about. A well-written story full of delightful characters, all with their own stories to tell who take the viewer on an amazing experience. The main word I would use to describe it is heartwarming. As the main character returns to her hometown due to a scandal, she must confront a past tragedy and grief that influenced her decision to walk away from her one and only love. He too has to confront the past, the pain of losing her, and the influence his father's grief has had on his life. The two main leads did an exceptional job portraying the simultaneous emotions of heartache with attraction, and walking on eggshells with their parents. I don't think they could've gotten better actors than these two. They were so genuine with their roles and characters, with each other, and with family and friends. It was like two best friends who actually grew up together said to each other one day, "Hey let's make a movie!" Well done Ji Chang Wook and Shin Hye Sun!! And who could not help but fall in love with the Haenyeos?!! Set and filmed in both Seoul and Jeju Island, the cinematography will stir the traveler in you to get on a plane and visit these beautiful areas of South Korea. All of this wrapped in a good soundtrack and you've got the makings of viewer nirvana, which is actually what it was. Great story, good subplots, great acting, great locations, music, and a good ending. All that's left is to grab the popcorn, curl up on the couch, and watch!

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A really good soul-swapping storyline

I tuned in because of Kim Jung Hyun. I saw him in Crash Landing on You and thought his acting was superb. Plus, this drama received some high marks. There is a twist to the soul-swapping storyline in that Shin Hue Sun's character has both souls in one body fighting over who will dominate. She does an amazing job of acting masculine within a feminine body and during a submissive female cultural period of time. I think her acting dominated the storyline, and I was especially charmed by the "texting" she started with the King Cheoljong. Kim Jung Hyun's acting was again superb. He has range in his acting skills and will be a dominate leading man in many, many types of dramas, of which many I will tune into. Another character that held me through the drama was Cha Chung Hwa. I have seen her in several dramas, and she never fails to entertain. She is also an excellent and versatile character actress and commits herself to every part. The story ebbed and flowed, with some parts slower than others, but still carried the viewer forward to the finale. It was exciting, heartbreaking, romantic, intriguing, funny, and typical all in the right places. The only improvement I would recommend is in the music score. I think musical compositions can add so much to a storyline, but for some reason the producers did not feel that was necessary here, but I felt it was lacking. Other than that, I applaud the screenwriters, producers, directors, the main and supporting actors, and the rest of the cast for a really entertaining production....thank you!

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Gripping!!

Full of twists and turns....you think you've got the story figured out, you think it's predictable, then bam!....something unexpected changes with the storyline. This one kept me glued to the screen. Amazing writing, amazing cast, and well produced. You think you're watching a storyline about getting revenge, but it's so much deeper and more meaningful, only you won't realize it until you watch it to the very end. One of the best laid out and thought out plot lines I've seen in quite awhile. The kind of drama that has South Korean entertainment taking over the world. I highly recommend this series. Congrats to all the cast and crew on this one!!

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Whooo's a Good Dawgyy? You Are That's Who!!

If you are in the mood for a fantasy/generational curse/reincarnation drama with some really cutie pawtootie (paw--get it?) dogs as part of the cast, then this is your drama.

Basically, a Josean royal who is a devotee of the Mountain God for most of her life (supporting female lead), marries someone else who is killed as a traitor so the officials come after her. She is saved by her faithful servant girl (female lead) and lover (male lead--who is also a palace guard??? or someone high ranking) who run into the mountains and is protected by the Mountain God (supporting male lead). The mountain god has fallen in love with his long time devotee. The servant girl's lover is caught, imprisoned, and set to be beheaded. The servant girl is carrying their child and in a moment of weakness reveals to the officials where her mistress is hiding in order to save her lover. Back to the mountain we go where a pursuit and fight ensue. The mistress, her servant girl, and the lover/palace guard are cornered on the side of a cliff. The mistress chooses this moment to end her life using the sword of the palace guard and falls over the side of the cliff. The mountain god sees only the bloody sword and his love falling to her death and mistakenly blames the servant girl and her lover. In a rage, he curses their unborn baby with a canine twist which is passed along to future generations.

As the drama starts, it is present day. The descendent of the servant girl is now a high school teacher, living a low-key life as her family suffers from this curse. Whenever they kiss someone, they turn into a dog by night, person by day. They have 100 days to have the person they kissed kiss them back as a dog in order to stay a human. Otherwise they stay a dog permanently. The reincarnation of the guard is a handsome, but cold and dorky math teacher at the same school. She accidentally kisses him while drunk, and the curse springs into action. Now she has 100 days to get him to kiss her as a dog. The twist is, he is afraid of dogs. The high jinks she goes through to finagle this kiss out of him is quite funny, and my favorite part of the drama. In the process the two fall in love again, the curse is lifted and for a while all seems well. Here is where the second twist comes in.

The mountain god is also a teacher at the high school, and he has been the one to bring the two together, watch the curse play out, and watch them suffer. After the curse is lifted, he plots to make them suffer more. The reincarnation of the mistress is one of the students who has shamanistic abilities. She is drawn to the mountain god/teacher, and begins a quest to figure out what happened in the past to make the mountain god want these two to suffer. This is where the historical back story plays out and in the end the mountain god realizes his love's death was not the fault of these two.

The story was cute, mysterious, dramatic, and hilarious all rolled into one. The end was a bit anticlimactic but still cute. I know most watch for the male lead played by Cha Eun Woo. He was superbly beautiful in every scene, and did a nice acting job of being scared of the cutest small dogs in the world. The rest of the cast played there parts well too. This is a nice fantasy drama. Don't go into it with any high expectations. Just some silliness and fun, and you'll enjoy the ride. I guess I could say it was bark-ah-licious..........too much?

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The Story Has A Deeper Meaning

It's really about finding oneself, understanding oneself, and loving oneself in order to be able to accept, love, and commit to another person. It's also realizing that relationships are not perfect. Long-term relationships can be off and on, up and down, go through valleys and be sky high. For relationships to stand the test of time, one has to accept each other in good times and bad, and be willing to go through the valleys together to try and come out on the other side still together. In other words, relationships are work.

The series is the story of two people trying to not only figure themselves out, but also figure out their relationship, and how they can navigate life and stay together. They both make a lot of mistakes, but it is in the persistence, and that they keep trying again that they learn how to keep the relationship moving forward.

The secondary storylines were good as well. Especially the relationship between Young Hee and Hyun Jae. From very different backgrounds, this caused a lot of insecurity in Young Hee. She tried to cut him loose as she felt bringing darkness into his life was unfair. But, dang, he just stuck with her time and time again.

The main plot and sub plots play out over and over again. To a certain extent, it makes the drama boring. However, the same scenarios happening over and over again are needed to show the journey of discovery these young people are on. However, some of the characters behavior was exaggerated in typical Kdrama fashion. The males are so besotted with the females, they just fall all over themselves to please the girlfriends. While it would be nice if this were realistic, most of this can just be chalked up to the typical fictional Kdrama male. It definitely sells the story, but guys like this don't exist in real life.

It ends well with all the couples happy and together. The soundtrack was good. The scenery was good. Overall, it was a good series.

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Typical but Not Typical Rom Com

It was the typical girl meets boy, they can't stand each other in the beginning, boy has some sort of issues to work through, they are thrown together through an "arrangement," and end up falling in love.

It was not typical in the female lead's character. Strong, independent, a fighter, she doesn't just take on the role society has deemed she should have. Her character is what kept me going through the series. I loved Kim Ok Bin's Mi Ran!!! Feisty, stubborn, physically talented, a brain, witty, always there for the underdog. I loved this character. She wasn't unsure, lacking confidence, overly needy, or any of the other stereotypical female roles that you usually find in rom coms.

Also good in the series, the supporting characters, although I think their storylines could have been expanded. It was a really good, funny, feel-good, all-around enjoyable rom com, and I would highly recommend it. The actors all did well in their parts.

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Youthful Angst Meets Adult Wisdom

This was a coming of age story with all the happiness, sorrows, ups, downs, and amazing experiences one has with a group of friends that just go through it all together. I like that they diversified the group of friends. Friend groups that are all alike, their families are carbon copies of each other are so boring and cliche'. This group was well mixed. The top athlete/superstar yet whose family is poor and sacrificing everything for her, the fatherless child whose single-parent is so busy providing for their home she is neglecting her daughter (I could relate to this one), the son thrust into poverty by the mistakes of his father yet taking responsibility to care for his brother and mother, the smartest kid in the school and bored to tears by everything, and the kid who fails academically because the school fails to offer him and his skill set anything other than studying for the next test. These kids came together and experienced first love, bullying, pressures from school, parents, life, disappointments, failures, successes, forgiveness, fun, fear, and heartache. They took the viewer along with them every step. I laughed, I got bored, I cheered, I got angry, I cried. The storyline moved me along with the lives of these 5 people just like surfing a wave onto the sand.

I read a lot of reviews that were angry and disappointed at the ending. I wasn't. This is the type of story where you get hooked into the characters and want more. I think the ending was purposeful to provide a second series. Anyway, I hope so. There were some unanswered questions, and information about these 5 characters that could lead easily to another series to fill in the gaps. The writers know how to provide a rich storyline and very developed characters. I do believe they could provide us with another amazing story of Na Hee Do, Baek Yi Jin, Go Yu Rim, Moon Ji Woong, and Ji Seung Wan five or ten years later that would be very satisfying to those of us who loved this story. I hope we will see more.

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A Chip Off the Old Kdrama Romance Block

This drama fits the mold, which must be successful because there sure are a lot of them. "Scarred in youth" boy meets "going through hell" girl and it's hate at first sight. But then they are thrown into an adventure together, which magically causes them to fall in love, psychologically heals the boy's scars of the past, and gives the girl a new lease on life. While the typical-ness of this drama made it mediocre, several of the actors kept me moving through the storyline. I come for the storyline plus the acting, but minus a really good storyline, its usually the actors that keep me watching, and this one did not disappoint. I thought some of the music in it was really good as well. It's a good drama to just turn off your brain and be entertained for awhile. But keep the expectations low.

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Edge of Your Seat Thriller

It's a romance embedded into a psychological thriller and murder mystery. Raw, gripping, sexy, and even sweet at times. A who-dun-it mystery that will keep you glued until the end. You have to watch it to the end because it will be a surprise, one I did not see coming. The musical score is good and helps with the tense, mysterious, and dramatic scenes. I would say my only complaints are that it shifts between present, past, and future and sometimes it s hard to tell which moment in time you're in. Also, there are awkward transitions between some of the scenes that I'm not sure make sense and add little to the story. Over all though, it was really good. Congrats to the actors--these roles were dark at times and could not have been easy to play--also the production value was outstanding, clothes, sets, lighting, camera angles, it was all done well.

At 8 episodes it's just the right length. I can easily recommend this one.

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