Mary Vannieuwenhoven

This is my third series watching Kim Hyun-joong and continue to be impressed with the depth of his acting skills. His characters were different in Boys over Flowers, When Time Stopped, and Playful Kiss, but in each show you get drawn to him and his adorable smile while he brings you on a journey of laughter, tears, frustration, and love. Not all actors have the ability to impact viewers in this way. All three shows also include songs that he sings that fit beautifully into scenes they are played for (downloaded several from iTunes). Both as a musician and an actor, he is very talented and I hope to see more series with him in it. The beginning of Playful Kiss was a little too high school “ish” for me but may be enjoyable depending on viewer age. I was glad to see the female lead identify her goal in life near the end vs following the make lead around. As much as his character could sometimes be irritating in his teasing treatment of her (ok sometimes his character was a jerk but others sweet), between her and his mother I can see where he would feel a bit smothered and forced down a path he instead needed to figure out on his own. I did enjoy the actor that portrayed his mom though, she did a great job. I started to get invested more as the episodes went on, high school ended, and the characters evolved. I ended up binge watching the entire series in two days. While Boys over Flowers remains my favorite of his, I would watch Playful Kiss again.

The music in this series was excellent and brought out the emotions of the scenes engaging me as a viewer into the emotions. Kim Hyun-Joong has an amazing voice, I didn’t realize initially he was the one singing many of the songs for the show in addition to acting. He depicted a strong handsome loving character that anyone would fall in love with and mom’s dream about for their daughters. Lee Min-Ho is adorable, always enjoy watching him. The F4 guys were so handsome in their attire. The story line was intense, funny, beautiful, excellent acting, and sometimes frustrating (including the ending depending on who you root for) but definitely worth watching. I consider it one of the top three Asian romance/dramas I’ve ever watched (out of ~ 50).

This drama has been very fun to watch and while there are some dramas that have way more episodes than needed, I’ll be sad to see this one end after only 12. This series does a great job blending romance and humor. The two male leads, Ahn Hyo-Seop and Kim Min-Kyu are adorably cute and great actors, I’ve seen them in a few shows now and enjoy watching them both. Kim Sejeong and Seol In-Ah also do a great job as female leads with good chemistry between the couples. While the story has some predictability to it with rich families trying to marry off their kids for increased wealth and heirs, how the two leads meet with the rich kids trying to avoid setups and watching their relationship grow has been super cute. One of a handful of shows I’ve wanted to re-watch episodes for while waiting for new episodes to become available and definitely plan to re-watch it again in the future. If you like light-hearted romance with a side of quirky humor and just a hint of drama tossed in, this show is a must see. Congrats cast and crew on an amazing series, thank you for sharing your talents with us.

This is my 62nd k-drama show (yes I’m addicted) and I recommend it for viewing. I first became interested because I enjoy watching Kim Seon-Ho after seeing him in a few different shows. That smile, big dimples, and warm eyes are the best and he is also a talented actor. The scenery and location were beautiful and a perfect seaside to compliment the narrative (now on my bucket list when we go to Korea). The entire cast complimented each other taking you on a journey each episode as you learn more about their history. Hye-Jin and Du-Sik both did a great job acting. Two unlikely people meet and thru the ups and downs of life help each other learn to love, laugh, and heal. The village community showed the closeness of a small town, how you can sometimes annoy each other but are always there for each other. The last two episodes were very good filling the viewers with all types of emotions and sharing details that you knew existed but remained hidden for much of the show. I really enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing this journey with us cast and crew of Hometown Cha Cha Cha!

The description for this show sounds so cute I had high expectations. There is some good acting and I love the male leads smile. The storyline is somewhat predictable with the budding romance being torn apart by amnesia and just as it may start coming back together secondary partial amnesia sets in. Many of the episodes especially in the beginning focused too much on other characters with not enough screen time for the main couple. There are too many annoying supporting characters that I’m not interested in watching resulting in wanting to fast forward parts of the episodes. For a seemingly smart guy he repeatedly falls for the lies of the villain female that tears the leads apart. I almost quit watching it several times but got a bit more invested around episode 25 but then by 40 they are torn apart again. There must be other storylines this show can take outside of constantly tearing these two apart. Some people may enjoy the storyline for me it’s not as good as other kdramas I’ve watched I’m not sure I’ll stay with it to the end.

I started watching this show due to Lee Je-Hun after enjoying his performance in Tomorrow With You. I again enjoyed watching him in this show, he is very talented. His character Lee Soo-Yeon had me smiling and in tears throughout the series. (He’s also very handsome and there’s a shirtless scene that shows off his muscular build). This is the first show I’ve seen Chae Soo-Bin in as the female lead Han Yeo-Room, I enjoyed her portrayal and hope to watch her again. One of my favs is Kim Kyung-Nam, I enjoyed watching him in The King Eternal Monarch. If you haven’t seen either of those shows, check them out. In typical k-drama fashion, as the story line unfolds you learn about the past of the main characters and the destiny that brought them to where they are today. With a bit of mob gangster, hero strength, and romance, along with the hope that there are options to help disabled people, this story had something for different types of viewers. I wish there would’ve been more romance between Oh Dae-Ki and Na Young-Joo, they were a cute couple and that could’ve been played up more. I was also a little disappointed in the ending as we didn’t get to see his face when he returned only hers and the reunion seemed to be cut short. I wish writers would spend more than the last 5 minutes of a show to unite the leads, we as viewers want more and enjoy seeing them together. Often times parts of the story line goes on perhaps longer than it needs to but the ending is too short. That said, the ending was still good and makes you smile. Overall I enjoyed the series, it’s my 64th Asian Drama. I recommend you watch it. Thanks to the translating team for doing the English sub-titles, I couldn’t enjoy all of these great shows without your efforts.

I watched this show because of Kim Hyun-Joong and his outstanding and heartwarming performance in Boys Over Flowers. I can’t recall ever being as drawn to a character and the emotions you feel for him throughout the series. If you haven’t seen it, check it out. To be honest, after falling in love with his portrayal of Ji Hoo in BOF, I wasn’t sure how it would feel watching him in different roles, but he doesn’t disappoint. He is truly a talented actor I found myself waiting each episode for his adorable smile that makes you smile with him. This show started a little slow but has a unique storyline that unfolds over time and branches out to learn more about each of the main characters as the episodes continue. It’s a cute romance that seems to bloom slowly with a surprising twist near the end. As the show progresses and especially during the later episodes, you learn more about Joon Woo (Hyun-Joong). I enjoyed watching his heart open and the two of them together. The acting overall was done well. I enjoyed the female lead she was very good too and paired well with Hyun-Joong. I wish the two of them would’ve had even more screen time together.

I really enjoyed this show. The leads Kang Doo and Moon Soo had good synergy and were a cute couple. As the story unfolds throughout each episode, you learn more regarding the root cause of the building collapse and how the lives of the characters are connected. How sad and tragic to lose so many lives and unexpected sorrow for all involved. The storyline does a great job depicting the impact to the survivors and the family/friends of survivors. It was odd how Joo Won just instantly dropped obsessing over Moon Soo or even wanting to be her friend. I get he thought she said something about his dad but never seem to resolve in the plot. I was extremely disappointed in Moon Soo’s character change in the last few episodes once she remembered. I get she felt guilt but her attitude towards Kang Doo was more of hate than regret as she totally snubbed him even when he was in pain. I was glad that was short lived. The biggest regret of the storyline is not showing her memorial design. That was such a large part of the series from many perspectives and having the show end with them kissing in the memorial with the family and friends along with survivors walking around the garden would’ve made the show even better. I recommend watching it and thought overall it was very good.