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Rom Coms never get old.

Would you accept a business proposal that guarantees a release of endorphins to relieve stress, gives you a good belly laugh & “happy hormones” through the course of its run?

The delectable cast, fun-filled and hilarious scenarios are bound to make your day.

Cast your rationality aside as you hop on this vagabond to a KDrama rom com that’s filled with destiny and coincidences (that are usually hard to make-believe).

All you need to do is sit back and relax.

Let’s revisit the most hilarious/cringe-worthy, lovey dovey, touching moments, while also reflecting on the life lessons that the drama bestowed us. Read More →

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There is nothing really crazy, fanciful or dreamy about “Crazy Romance”, as compared to similar genre theme movies like “My Sassy Girl”.

The only crazy element here is what the leads would do when they get drunk.

It is very much about the ordinary love lives of people in their mid or late 30s, that you may see a little of yourself or your peers in the characters.

Gone is the warm, fuzzy feeling with butterflies flying in your stomach when you reach that age. No more fantasies, but it doesn’t mean less drama in our lives. We ought to be able to deal with breakups better due to our life experiences.

Is that the case when it comes to matters of the heart?

As we would typically term “age is just a number”, but it doesn’t equate to increasing maturity as we age, when it comes to dealing with things that our hearts cannot cope with.

The storyline is a little bland, because it is a portrayal of the lives of ordinary people. There is literally no climax, but there are scenes or incidents which we can relate to.

Kim Rae Won and Gong Hyo Jin are not your typical good-looking Korean celebs, but we can’t deny how they have captivated our hearts with their acting all these years. They make it work again with their on-screen camaraderie and acting abilities.

The protagonists are in their mid 30s, who have had their fair shares of bad breakups and are the complete opposite of each other.

Sun Young believes that once a relationship is over and done with, it is over, while Jae Hoon believes that there may still be a tinge of hope for rekindling the relationship for it is never easy to start or end one.

There are a couple of things that this movie is trying to address, about cyber bullying, shaming others, the toxicity at work environment when the gossipmongers enjoy spreading rumours and also how the current generation relies on instant messaging apps like Whatsapp or KakaoTalk to communicate more than talking to one another.

You would rather type message to one another even if you are just a few metres away in actual physical proximity.

It also addresses the following topics with regards to the use of social media:
– Toxic spreading of rumours/gossips via social media, including an ex posting fake news and your particulars on internet
– Replying to the wrong group chats
– Texting an ex nonstop to rant about his/her misgivings

We have heard and seen a fair share of Korean celebrities ending up in suicides due to the relentless bashing of netizens. It is an unforgiving universe in the cyber world, where everyone just hides behind their keyboards and type all they want irresponsibly. It is an avenue for them to release their stress but also to unleash their evil side, to talk bad about others openly.

While freedom of speech is important, we need to be more mindful of not just our opinions, but how it would affect the receiving party.

We often hear about others’ doings, be it right or wrong, from the mouths of other people. But how often do we seek to verify the truth or think twice before we disseminate this information to a third party?

Gong Hyo Jin is conferred the “Queen of Rom-Coms”, while many ladies would envy her for all the charming male leads she has as partners. There’s a very likable vibe about her and you would feel happy and comfortable to watch her act. Kim Rae Won has not taken on a “comedic” genre drama or movie for the longest time. It has been 22 years but he gets more charismatic as he ages. I literally can’t say No to any of his works.

While it is an open ending, for there is no guarantee that two heartbroken souls would find solace in each other and live happily ever after.

Isn’t that the same in real life?

We fumble and stumble along the way, we fall and break, but we try to pick ourselves up and be a better me.

We forge on, even if venturing into the unknown future.

what the director wishes to convey through this movie is for people who have been hurt before, to learn to be brave and continue to believe in love.

Love is not just about the lovey-dovey moments and sweet nothings, but it is also about seeing through the hard times together as we learn more about our partner and ourselves through this process.

So here’s one for those who have been hurt and hope that they could believe in love again, and also for those who are in love, to continue to love in their most 真切 ways.

The most ordinary love may not sound as “exciting” than short-lived 轰轰烈烈 romances, but they are worth a lifetime to upkeep that marathon.
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Supernatural/paranormal/fantasy dramas have been receiving much love from viewers worldwide. Some examples include “My Love from the Star”, “Goblin”, “Legend of the Blue Sea”, “Korean Odyssey”.

Ever since the overwhelming success of “The Master’s Sun”, we face a shortage of Suspense-Thriller-Rom-Coms with a tinge of dark humour (that grip your hearts). There were probably a few attempts, but none really satisfied that innate desire like “Master’s Sun” did. “Lovely Horribly” is a combination of “Master’s Sun” and “W- Two Worlds”, where it has defined its unique genre.

You would be intrigued to find out more from the very 1st episode, with many mysteries & questions waiting to be unraveled. It has a mixture of ill-fated destiny, ghosts, unknown powers of the supernatural, zero-sum romance, thriller, suspense, comedy, and how eerily that tragic events in the script would eventually become reality.

The one element that makes this drama stand out is the zero-sum fate of our lead couple.

It piques your interest to want to find out if it were the supernatural forces, ill fated destiny, or humans who caused this “zero-sum” fate.

They are polar opposites – when one is enjoying all the success, luck, happiness in life, the other would be extremely down on luck and be plagued with misfortunes.

How should these 2 persons co-exist then? If only 1 between the 2 can live on, who will it be?

The initial 7 to 10 ep were fast-paced and full of suspense. However, it fails to live up to its expectations for the last few episodes. Viewers may start to get weary after the story begins to unravel and you kind of know where the plot is leading you to.

Many characters in the drama harbour dark secrets and have their own agenda. It makes you wonder, if the unknown like supernatural beings are scarier than human beings or vice versa. As you age, you would fear for the safety of your loved ones more than other things.

The great CGI and sound effects attribute to how the drama has managed to grip audience’s interest. The “tock tock” sounds of the high heels, the landslide, murder cases, errie music and dark runways were all portrayed very well. I watched 80% of this drama during wee hours and it is so SHIOK, since it was packed with mysterious and eerie elements, and many bizarre happenings left you lingering for more. You would applaud at how they could all link one seemingly small scene to big incidents.

It’s cute watching how these 2 loggerheads bicker and slowly fell in love with each other. The chemistry is there but not compelling enough to make you totally believe the “I will die for you” rationale.

I love the funny interactions whereby Eul Soon would always be Philip’s life savior, be it during the “stabbing” incident, landslide and many more, where he would clutch on to her and find ways to make her stay around till the end of the drama filming. The one scene that Philip trimmed Eul Soon’s messy hair for her would send ripples through your heart.

It seems that Park Si Hoo is a little restrained in expressing the role. I can’t feel the depth of his love for Eul Soon as compared to Eun Soon’s love and sacrifices for him. There isn’t much 发挥空间 for him, except to add some comedic elements.

Song Ji Hyo has always been a natural and versatile actress, since “Wishing Stairs”, “Princess Hours” and “Emergency Couple”. She has the good looks, intelligence, wittiness and the ability to act with her heart.

She had messy hair, no makeup on for half the drama, had the worst of luck, no true friends or family members with her. From time to time, your heart would cringe when you see how sad her life has been and some of the flash backs with her foster mother.

This drama wouldn’t have kept up to its good raves and exciting pace without the help of the supporting roles.

Jang Young Nam was the key person to link through the story. As a mum to both of them (birth mother and foster mother), we see how she sacrificed for her children and took pains to make sure both of them would be safe, whether she was alive or dead.

Lee Ki Gwang’s role as Lee Sung Joong, a PD who has a hidden ability to see ghosts is a good addition. He’s Eul Soon’s “Black Knight” – the one who will always support her and catch her back whenever things happen.

Eun Jung always has her way in making her 坏女人 roles very convincing. She does irritate the hell out of you as someone who is over possessive over the man she loves and would do anything for him. She did not feel a tinge of remorse or guilt for what she has done in the name of “love”. We feel that she has a lot of potential to unleash in future works.

You would dislike Choi Yeo Jin in this drama. All the unscrupulous things that Eun Young would do to succeed would make you cringe. I also like the last few episodes where she “sold” her soul in order to be able to write better than Eul Soon.

I like how Ji Seung hyun depicted his character as a group mate who turned jealous and sour over Philip’s success and felt that Philip was responsible for the plight he is in.

Isn’t this mentality just so true to everyday life?

It’s always easier to blame others for the “plight” that you are in, than to really seek inner answers, which you already have.

There was one scene in Ep 6 which had very meaningful quotes and life philosophies.

“偶然不存在的。都是选择。偶然以及命运，都不存在什么无可奈何，因为一切都是我们的选择。所以，选择改变了，结局也会跟着改变。”

Human beings often ttribute whatever that has happened (that’s beyond our logical thinking) to a coincidence or destiny.

It is like a “butterfly effect” in life. When you make a conscious decision, it will affect how things will eventually fold out. If you chose to do something differently, the end result would have been different as well.

Love comes in all forms and magnitudes. It’s natural that we feel unfair if we love someone more than they love us, because we would end up the ones making more sacrifices in the end. This would lead you into doubting the other party’s love for you.

Such is love. It cannot be seen, can never be balanced at a 50:50 ratio, and may change any time. Too much possessiveness not just brings about destruction to others, but also to you.We need to learn to let go at times, when we feel that we couldn’t take it anymore.

It’s just that we never realised how strong we all are, till being strong is the only way.

To sum it up, if you enjoy some thrills and even chills along the way when chasing a drama, loves to also laugh out loud at rom-coms and have an investigative desire to solve mysteries, this is certainly one drama worth watching.

It still remains exciting till the very end, just that you would have satisfied most, if not all of your curiosity by then.Read More →

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No matter how time passes, a romantic comedy (“rom-com”) remains as one of the long-withstanding favourite drama genres. There is a little girl who lives in many women’s hearts. She still believes in fairytales, and is secretly hoping that a prince charming would take her away someday.

Even when the drama has the most clichéd (almost predictable) story line about a narcissistic chaebol falling for his capable, beautiful secretary (with the loveliest smile), it would still become an instant hit. “Rich Guy vs Ordinary Girl” may be an extremely old-fashioned plot, but as long as it resonates well with the general public, who cares?

What makes this web-toon turned drama so swoon-worthy and being able to acclaim 5 to 10% viewership ratings on average?

The fundamental requirements include not only having good looking & popular leads, endearing moments, kiss scenes, funny elements, the most important would be chemistry between the leads and how supporting roles would add on to the FUN on set.

Other than an almost perfect chaebol (who’s rich, intelligent, successful, good-looking, except being dense), the gorgeous and capable secretary, there is a considerable amount of effort put into creating the latest office fashion trend.

Park Min Young is a trendsetter and a fashion icon among young ladies. Whatever she donned in the drama garnered much attention, ranging from office shirts (Common Unique, avouavou, Sezwick, Jill Stuart), knee length skirts, handbags from Sandro, Jimmy Choo, Joy Gryson, Chloe, Mulberry, Fendi, Valextra &Loewe, to her dangling earrings. My favourites were her off shoulder dress and cold-shoulder floral dress from “Not Your Rose”.

Much as I love romantic comedies, “What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim” failed to make me fall head over heels, because it lacked depth in the following ways:
– Not enough depth to the respective love lines or family relationships
– Weak character build-up for supporting roles, especially disappointed in how they portrayed Lee Tae Hwan as Sung Yeon
– There wasn’t much takeaway from the love triangle

It may not be Park Seo Joon’s 1st time assuming the role of a Chaebol, but it’s definitely one that you cannot help but applaud and shake head (at the same time) at his hilarious narcissistic behaviour.

他的 “自我感觉”异于常人的良好。He thinks he is a gift from heaven, being so intelligent, rich and handsome that he seems more like some superhuman existence.

There is this saying which goes “you need to love yourself before you can love another person”. For Young Joon’s case, he needs to learn how to allocate some of his precious self-love to the people around him. He only shows his gentler demeanour towards Mi So.

While he may be the most difficult boss, you would chuckle at how Mi So can just handle him so well, on many different levels, be it at work, personal or social events. You can see from his little actions like slowing down his strides so that Mi So can catch up and walk alongside him. It’s a manifestation of how he sees her as his equal half, evolving from their long-time superior-employee relationship.

Even when he really didn’t want Mi So to leave her job, he hoped that she would look for what truly makes her happy in life. He’s the overzealous boyfriend, who would freak out at the thought of Mi So adjusting neck tie for other men. He would take care of her when she was drunk but also angry that she did not control her limit.

Perhaps it’s due to age; such “far from reality” dramas are not as heart-gripping for me. I prefer “Fight for My Way” because it not only shows the cute interactions, but also how real the obstacles that the characters meet in life are.

Much as the “Park-Park” couple looking so compatible and cute together, Park Min Young seems to have the best chemistry with Ji Chang Wook in “Healer”. As for Park Seo Joon, he’s got such oozing chemistry with Kim Ji Won and Hwang Jung Eum, that Park Min Young pales in comparison.

Park Min Young’s acting is average but since it is a rom-com, you do see her giving some cute expressions such as an evil sneer. More often than not, you would see her with big, doe eyes looking lovingly or angrily at Young Joon. Both leads manage to act on a level of understanding that complements each other. It is very important to have a 好对手。

Mi So can consider publishing a book or giving a talk on “How to Handle your Boss cum Boyfriend”. It may seem that Young Joon had the upper hand at the beginning since he is her boss. However, when the relationship changed, you could see how Mi So had him twirling round her fingers.

Do not be fooled by her appearance. Mi So is the new age competent woman who doesn’t compromise if she is being treated badly and she will say NO even to her most difficult boss. It’s plausible Young Joon finds this alluring and challenging about her.

While Mi So can 察言观色 very well, she has seemingly overlooked the fact that it is not just Young Joon in a one-sided relationship. She has disregarded Young Joon’s feelings time and again while they were making wedding preparations. It is usually the ladies who lament that their other halves do not seem to bother much. In this drama, this role takes a reversal turn. It shows that it takes 2 hands to clap in a relationship.

“女人心海底针”。 Since prehistoric days, it is tough for men to ever fully understand women, especially so for a narcissistic chaebol like Young Joon.

He may be witty and can solve the most appalling or difficult business situation, but he lacks the basic understanding to women’s hearts. He never knew Mi So is allergic to pollen till his brother told him before their wedding.

That is something I couldn’t fathom. How could someone be dense till this extent?

It is rather confusing that Young Joon didn’t seem to realize he likes Mi So all along till she made known her decision to resign. Yet at the later part, he knew he has been in love with her since Day 1.

That’s where the story buildup is weak in terms of how the love line develops. From someone who knows close to nothing about the intricacies of human relationships, Young Joon made a 360 degree transformation to a Sensitive New Age Guy (SNAG).

Young Joon let his emotions took the better of him after hiding them for 9 years. We could understand how eager he wanted to announce their newfound relationship to everyone else. However from Mi So’s perspective, she has long considered all possible consequences of dating her superior (who’s a “Golden” bachelor). She needs to withstand all accusations thrown at her on how she managed to win Young Joon’s heart.

While rekindling memories of the childhood kidnap scene was an attempt to beef up their relationship, it may have taken a notch too far. Audience may be skewed towards thinking that the 2 of them are just holding on to a childhood promise, instead of genuinely falling for each other.

We could tell in the earlier episodes that the 2 of them do feel something for each other. Even when Sung Yeon was mistaken as the “Oppa” who saved Mi So back then, Mi So also made it clear to him that she was just being grateful and it isn’t love.

Here are my favourite top 3 kiss scenes:
1) Wardrobe Kiss
2) A First kiss attempt but to have Mi So pushed far, far away
3) When Young Joon started kissing Mi in his home, Director Park barged in to the “crime scene”

I find Secretary Yang’s way of confession so refreshing! Imagine writing your confession in black marker on a bottle of coke. The lady would not realise till she starts sipping coke. In no time, she would have gulped the entire coke to see what you have written. That was SWAG. She would be too overloaded with sweetness to even think about rejecting you.

My Favourite Relationship Goals Quotes:

1) “There’s nothing better than being honest” – Mi So
2) “I want to be in the kind of relationship where I feel the tiredness of my day getting washed off just by hugging you once, even if you don’t make my heart flutter” – Young Joon.
3) “你是我的世界，也是我的所有瞬间。而我的所有瞬间，都是你。” – Young Joon

Marriage is not just about making sky-high promises. It is about making and realising attainable lifelong promises. This is what we call “细水长流，平凡的幸福”.

There are 3 distinct office romances that we see in this drama. “The Underground Love”, “The Boyfriend who can’t wait to flaunt his beautiful girlfriend”, and one whereby it started from Loggerheads to Lovers.

It’s best to keep mum about your office romance, for it not just affects how people may perceive of you, but it would also affect your work performance and your “impartiality”. We are all human beings, and we do get carried away with our feelings.

It seems that societal perceptions about being successful = being rich and dressing well, have not changed. This is particularly so in a more conventional society like Korea. While we are sad that Chansung had only 1 set of “office suit”, we agree that sometimes we wish we have just that 1 set of “office uniform”, so we would not need to fret over what to wear the next day.

Never a day had Young Joon forgotten about that dreadful past, but he acted nonchalant and as if he had lost his memories, so that everyone could carry on with their lives. He did not wish to revive Mi So’s painful memories although this would mean she would not remember him. He was truly considerate and sensitive towards Mi So’s feelings. It seems he is in a more suffering state. He remembers all the hurt and pain, but also the love for her, yet he could tell no one.

We also love Kang Ki Young’s role as Director Park Yoo Sik, who’s Young Joon’s long-time friend but subordinate at the same time. Yoo Sik is more like his Life and Love adviser, who rendered much earnest and valuable help to Young Joon’s personal life.

One useful advice was when Mi So called Young Joon a “bulldozer”, he asked Young Joon to control his speed because “more haste, less speed” applies in all love relationships. It would be wise that he slows down since it will pressurise Mi So to try to catch up with him all the time. Over time, she would just get sick of even trying.

I probably had my expectations set a tad too high regarding the sibling rivalry between Sung Yeon and Young Joon. We can sense hatred, angst and resentment between the 2 of them. The situation worsened as Mi So came into the picture, with both brothers trying to pursue her. We thought the clichéd “Rich parents would oppose” scenes would appear, but luckily there was no soap drama in this aspect.

I thought Lee Tae Hwan’s break would come as the 2nd male lead in “What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim”, but all I could ask was “what’s wrong with the script”?
They did not just waste such a good looking contender to Young Joon, but made him seem as if he’s a weak opponent right from the very beginning.

While I agree Lee Tae Hwan has quite a fair bit to learn in horning his acting skills, the character lacked all the attributes he could leverage on to alleviate his attractiveness. His saving grace was at the last episode when he finally 冰释前嫌 with Young Joon and said that “I’m sorry. At that time, I couldn’t let it be me.” Perhaps the scriptwriter didn’t want the storyline to be too 煽情, it is more of like 点到为止 even when Sung Yeong expressed his remorse and regret.

I also like the part where Young Joon spent a lot of effort crafting a proposal plan for Mi Soo.

A marriage proposal is not about copying what others do, but more of customising what is suitable for that individual. Just think intently on what is it that she wants and you would come up with something that’s unique for her.

While this drama is ideal for a light-hearted laugh after a tiring day (with many swoon-worthy elements), the storyline is pretty forgettable in my opinion.

Nonetheless, it is still worth watching once if you are a fan of Rom-Coms or any of the leads.Read More →