Princess Lulu

Waktu tayang : July 27 - September 29, 2005

Waktu menonton : High School

Hal paling berkesan : The cute dresses I guess.

I have the DVD boxset of this drama. So why can't I recall the story of this drama? I guess it's not very memorable, and even back then I'm struggling to watch it. The sign that I am not that impressed with a drama is when I don't have the sense of urgency of finishing a drama. And I don't have one when I'm watching this drama. I don't even remember whether I've finish watching this drama or not.

Go Hee-Soo is an heiress of a large corporation company. She has always been that rich sheltered girl. In a weird situation, she met Woo-Jin, a playboy and another heir for a large company. They did not know the identity of one another at first, and they got close when Woo-Jin help Hee-Soo to see the real world outside the world that her grandfather has created for her. Later, they met again and their identity's finally exposed. It's no big secret that gradually they fall in love with each other.

The reason why this drama is not memorable is this : it's boring. Sure, the plot is the same cliche thing. But they can't turn the cliche into something enjoyable, like Full House. It's just tiring to watch because it's so boring. It's without charm and the conflict is boring. I watch it because of Kim Jung Eun, who play Hee-Soo. And it's not even because I like her. I knew very few Korean actress back then, and because of that from the few I know I always try to watch their other movies. After watching Kim Jung Eum on Lovers in Paris, I figured there's no harm in trying to watch it.

It's not bad, it's just boring. The conflict is not interesting, Kim Jung Eun's acting is bland. She tried to be cute but failed. Overall, too bland and boring for my taste.

Wonderful Life

Waktu tayang : March 7 - April 26, 2005

Waktu menonton : High School

Hal paling berkesan : Nothing. Not because it's bad, but I literally cannot remember.

This is gonna be a short review because of my lack of passion for this drama. It's not because I don't watch it, because I do. It's because it's not my type of drama. This is a drama about a child, about family. For some reason, I don't particularly like KDrama about family. And I watch this because at the time, I am in a KDrama frenzy because of Full House, and I basically watch any KDrama that I could get my hands on.

The premise is this. Han Seung Wan, on the way to meet his girlfriend, bumps into a young woman named Jung Se Jin. They accidentally switch passports, which caused them to spend time with each other. After they separated, Seung Wan discovered that his girlfriend presumably cheated on him. So then Seung Wan and Se Jin finds comfort in each other and it unexpectedly resulted in a one-night stand. They both move on with their lives until Se Jin finds out that she's pregnant. They decided to marry each other for the sake of the child, with a promise that they'll divorce in five years.

Obviously there's a lot more conflict than that, with the standard four people romance (each have their own rival) and the emergence of illness storyline. But I can't recall them because I skimmed this drama. I fast forward the boring stuff and only watch the interesting stuff. But there's not much interesting stuff for me to watch, because I'm not a fan of family drama. And this is a family drama.

Looking back, it's not that bad. It's actually kinda good-ish (maybe). But it's just not my cup of tea and I ended up not liking them.

Full House

Waktu tayang : June 14 - September 2, 2004

Waktu menonton : High School

Hal paling berkesan : The beautiful Paris

It's impossible to review KDrama without mentioning the classic : Full House. This drama is the favorite drama of a lot of people and with good reasons. It's very enjoyable. In fact, I've watched it more than five times due to the reruns but I still enjoy it every time. Maybe it's because this is the first rom-com KDrama that I watch from start to finish. The last KDrama that I've watched fully is Winter Sonata, and it's a melodrama. I almost generalize KDrama for tear fest, but thankfully Full House came and it got me hooked to KDrama. Not to mention the leads, Rain and Song Hye Kyo, are not that bad looking either.

The story is this. After coming back from a trip abroad that her friends paid for, Han Ji Eun (Song Hye Kyo) finds out that they did so only to sell her house while she was away. She returns and finds that her house is now being owned by the famous actor Lee Young Jae (Rain). Through a string of events, they ended up signing a fake marriage contract. Ji Eun will pretend to be married to Young Jae for six months, while they both live under the same roof. After six months, she will get her house back. Gradually they began to fall for each other. But not before many interesting and amusing thing happen to them.

The premise is actually really cliche. I mean, love contract? That has been done dozens of times on KDrama. But the fact is, Full House is the pioneer of that premise of drama. Every drama after it is copying while Full House is genuine. The standard four people lead also can be seen here. Two main leads, with both lead having someone who loves them. It's very cliche, but it's cliche done right. Full House is very enjoyable mainly because the lighthearted nature of the drama and also the cute chemistry of the couple. Their chemistry is not of sizzling hot chemistry, but of a cute and comfortable relationship. It's a delight to watch.

I have to mention one spoiler thing though. The kiss at the end is absolutely flat and anti climatic. I mean, at the end of the sixteen episode of romance and the kiss is this flat? I keep wanting more. More sizzling romance. It's true that their romance is a cute and comfortable romance, but if only there's some sizzling chemistry there also.

Watching it again all these years later, I can see that Full House is not really that special, plot-wise. But it's still very enjoyable and fun to watch, even though it didn't offer anything new. It's the perfect drama to watch when you're sick, just like eating your comfort food.

Lovers in Paris

Waktu tayang : June 12 - August 15, 2004

Waktu menonton : High School

Hal paling berkesan : The beautiful Paris

I actually like this drama. This is a typical cinderella story but it is done so well that the drama become very enjoyable and fun throughout the whole run. Not to mention the use of Paris in the beginning and ending of the drama is beautiful.

Tae Young, the protagonist of this drama, is a writer and she lives in Paris. Through chance, she met two Korean man in Paris. One is Sang Hyuk, when her bicycle breaks down. Sang Hyuk is intrigued with her and they become best friend. The other is Gi Ju, a rich ... something (I forgot his occupation) when he accidentally wreck her friend's stall. Through a string of events which I forgot exactly what, he asked her to be his fake fiance. After that, the drama resumes when the three of them is back in Korea. Tae Young then find out that Gi Ju is actually Sang Hyuk's uncle. With both of them being in love with her, the conflict building is unavoidable.

This is actually a really cliche drama, Poor girl meets rich guy. Girl's friend who is in love with her. It's all been there, done that. But it managed to be enjoyable and fun, even though it's actually nothing special. I can't remember details of the plot, and I can't remember the ending. I thought that the ending was a typical happy ending, but looking around in some forum I found out that it's not. I honestly didn't even understand the ending that much so I assumed it's just your typical happy ending.

I don't have a lot to say because for me this drama is really nothing special. I watch this soon after I finished Sassy Girl Chun Hyang and the latter is superior in every way. It's more fun, more enjoyable, brighter, and overall greater than this. Lovers in Paris' rating actually touch 50%, and that's really a lot. The drama is very famous in Korea, but I just plain like it. I think this is a good rom-com drama, and it's enjoyable. But I've watch dramas that are better than this.

Shining Days

Waktu tayang : February 11 - April 1, 2004

Waktu menonton : Junior High
Hal paling berkesan : The WTF ending. Bukan memorable tapi WTF. I even forget the storyline.

I hate this drama with a passion. And yet, I can't recall the story. I just can't. I hate it, but it's not memorable to me. Because I can't recall even one bit of the plot, let me tell you what I do remember. It's a melodrama. Melodrama generally involve a lot of soap opera-like conflict and I HATE those. I only watch it because it's airing on Indosiar at the time and I don't have anything to do. And there's Song Hye Kyo in it. This drama is aired after Full House became so popular after it is aired on Indosiar, and I loved Full House then. And I love Song Hye Kyo. She is really really beautiful.

But for the life of me, I just hate hate this drama.

I recall that I did watch most of the episodes but I missed a few. It's confusing then that I can't recall the plot even one bit. But I remember the one thing that I hated the most : the ending.

This drama involve love triangles, as usual. I remember that Song Hye Kyo's character had a childhood friend, and for the sake of this review I look it up and it is played by Ryu Seung Bum. He is not good looking and the character is uninteresting. This is the typical very nice childhood friend who loves the main character but in the end the main character never end up with them. The trope 'Girls love Bad Boy' had never been more used than in KDrama. And then there's the bad boy himself, played by Jo Hyun Jae. From the synopsis that I read, he is some kind of runaway and he stayed at the girl's house due to some accident. I remember that I love this character. The bad boy character really really got through and I'm really rooting for this couple.

And then the ending come where Song Hye Kyo, who loves Jo Hyun Jae, didn't actually choose him in the end. She ended up with the nice guy because she felt sorry for him. I mean, WTF? I know that maybe some people consider this a step from the norm because the girl didn't end up with the bad boy in the end, but I actually like this trope. And the nice guy is so bland, totally uninteresting, and not that good looking either. I hate the ending.

I forgot the rest of the drama but I remember the ending because I HATE it with a passion. Maybe it's just me, but the ending totally ruined it for me. Hate this drama, and Song Hye Kyo is not that pretty in it either. Hate her hairstyle in the drama. Overall, my subjective speaking told me I hate this drama. But for everyone else, this is a bland and totally missable melodrama. There's a lot better drama out there.

Winter Sonata

Waktu tayang : January 14 - March 19, 2002

Waktu menonton : Junior High or Elementary school.
Hal paling berkesan : Beautiful beautiful snow.

Winter Sonata is my mom's favorite drama. She loved loved loved it. She even had Bae Yong Jun's poster on the wall. She played the OST nonstop. She had a boxset edition of the DVD. And Winter Sonata is actually the first KDrama that I remember finishing, because of my mom. And seeing as this is a melodrama tear fest and generally is not my kind of thing, I ended up liking it to a point. It's the most prominent drama that jump start the Hallyu wave, and it's wildly popular.

The story starts when the main character is in high school. Joong-sang (Bae Yong Jun) is a new student at the high school. He moved to the town to find his biological father. He met a fellow student, Yu Jin (Choi Ji Woo), through chance. And they fall in love, no surprise there. He suspect that his biological father is Sang Hyuk's father, a fellow student and Yu Jin's bestfriend, who's also secretly in love with Yu Jin (no surprise there). But then he found out that her mother is actually just friends with Sang Hyuk's father, and she is actually in love with Yu Jin's father. Believing Yu Jin to be her sister (what's with this korean fascination of pseudo incest plot by the way?) , he went away to the city but remember at the last minute that Yu Jin's waiting for him. He decided to go back to give a last goodbye, but an accident claim him and everyone believe that he was dead.

Fast forward ten years later, and Yu Jin is celebrating her engagement with Sang Hyuk. On the way to the engagement party, he saw someone resembling Joong-san and chased him. She never really gotten over the death of Joong-sang. And then she found out that the person is actually Lee Min Hyung (Bae Yong Jun, with brown hair), her friend's boyfriend, there to attend her engagement party. The resemblance is uncanny though, and she can't get over that fact. When they're forced to work together to build a winter resort, they gradually fall in love all over again.

Of course there's still a LOT more conflict. Illness, opposing friends and families, Min Hyung's biological father and past, and a lot more. The truth is I hate this type of drama. I prefer a drama that is centered on the conflict between two people's love story and not about other unrelated stuff. But because this is the first KDrama that I finish, and my mom's love for them, I ended up surprisingly liking it.

Bae Yong Jun is great as Joong-sang/Min Hyung. He can portray the difference between both character. Joong-sang is quiet and cold, and Min Hyung is outgoing and happy. Both are clearly portrayed, and the viewers can see the difference. Choi Ji Woo did a passable job with her role. Too much crying for my taste, but maybe that's the script's fault, not her fault. The others did a passable job too.

This is actually the second drama in the Season series. It consist of Autumn in My Heart, Winter Sonata, Summer Scent, and Spring Waltz. Whereas Autumn in My Heart is filled with brown tone, from the scene, the autumn leaves, to the character's clothes, Winter Sonata is filled with winter tone. It takes place at Winter so there's snow everywhere. The clothes are white and black, sweaters and jackets. But the snow scene are absolutely beautiful. There's actually a tour to see the scene's location in Korea, as the movie Hello Stranger portrayed.

Overall, this is my favorite from the Season series. Note that it didn't count much because I only watch part of Autumn in My Heart, only the first episodes of Spring Waltz, and didn't even bother with Summer Scent. But this is actually somewhat good. I like it even with all the melodrama around, but I didn't love it.

Autumn in My Heart

Waktu tayang : September 18 - November 7, 2000

Waktu menonton : Junior High?
Hal paling berkesan : Song Hye Gyo and Song Seun Hoon. Gorgeous.

NB : Sorry about the low quality of the poster. I can't find better ones.

Autumn in my heart, or Endless Love as they call it in Indonesia, is actually the pioneer of the 'Hallyu wave' as they call it. It's the start of the popularity of korean drama. It's the first popular korean drama aired in Indonesia, and to many, it's the introduction to korean drama. And yet, I didn't watch it. Well, I watch it here and there, bits and pieces. But it never really attracts me. The first reason was because this is a melodrama, a tear fest. It is filled with tears, illness, separation. It's just too exhausting for me. And the second reason was the premise. I mean, pseudo incest? Really?

The story is this. Two siblings, Yoo Joon-Seo and Yoo Eun-Seo, is very close. Veeery close. They are the children of a rich professor. And then Eun-Seo got into an accident, and in the aftermath of the blood transfusion, they discover that they are not siblings after all. There's been an accidental baby switch in the hospital. Eun-Seo is actually the daughter of a very poor and very troubled family. So then they decided to switch the children back and cut all ties to one another. I mean, after raising a child for 15 years, you suddenly cut all ties to that said child and just switch them back as easy as that? Really?

Years pass, and both siblings are now grown up. They meet again through chance and become close, then fall in love. But they pretend that they are just a close sibling to everyone else. Eun-Seo even calls him brother. But certainly it's not a melodrama without conflict. The parents were against them, Joon-Seo's girlfriend threatened to commit suicide, Won Bin (I forgot his actual name in the drama) tried to get close to Eun-Seo, and then there's the illness of course. Leukimia. All in all, there's a LOT of crying in this drama. It's exhausting. And let me tell you a spoiler. They died. They both died. How great. I didn't even bother finishing this one and I just ask someone else about the ending.

I love korean drama, but I hate this type. Melodrama type. It's all tears and illness. Why do you want to watch something that is so filled with tears? I watch it here and there on TV, and I don't like what I see. The three main leads, Song Seun Hoon, Song Hye Kyo, and Won Bin, are now great stars. They made their debut here. Even Han Chae Young from Sassy Girl Chun Hyang fame, and the very talented young Moon Geun Young made her debut here too. It's no doubt that this is a memorable drama. But maybe it's for all the wrong reason. I didn't enjoy this one bit.

PS : This drama is actually part of an unrelated series of drama. Others were Winter Sonata, Summer Scent, and Spring Waltz. They all portray a different season tone. Autumn in My Heart portray Autumn with its brown scene, brown clothes, and brown everything. The four dramas all share similarities besides the tone though. All were melodrama tear fest, and I'm not a fan of them. But they're wildly popular.