Cast
Ko Hyun Jung as Ko Byeong Hee
Chun Jung Myung as Park Cheol Su
Cho Chong Wook as Bae Hee Myeong

Synopsis
Ko Byeong Hee is a 33-year-old single woman working as a reporter in a pornographic magazine. Despite her age, she still holds a torch for her senior in high school and was shocked to learn that he is gay. To add to her misfortune, she found that she has cysts and require further examination to determine whether it's cancer. Thinking for the worst, she became depressed and went for a drinking spree in a suburban area outside of Seoul. Having missed the last train, she called her best friend, Park Seung Hye to come and fetch her back. Seung Hye in turn tasked her brother Cheol Su to fetch Byeong Hee back, but as events turn out, they had a 1-night stand there.

Byeong Hee was embarrased and devastated and blamed Cheol Su, a 24-year-old mechanic. However, both decided to keep this matter under wraps and move on with their lives. In the course of work, Byeong Hee met Bae Hee Myeong, a 34-year-old doctor, and Hee Myeong fell for her. Byeong Hee agreed to be his girlfriend and they started their courtship. But Cheol Su was not happy with Byeong Hee's new relationship and he started to woo her too. Byeong Hee kept rejecting him, but Cheol Su was still persistent. Hee Myeong then decided to proposed to Byeong Hee and she accepted.

Coincidentally, Byeong Hee had violent cramps at a bookstore and she contacted Seung Hye to come and fetch her. But Seung Hye was not around, and as luck would have it, Cheol Su picked up the phone and raced to Byeong Hee. Byeong Hee had the operation, and the first person she called out to after the operation is Cheol Su. This is when she realised that she has always been in love with Cheol Su, and hence she broke off with Hee Myeong. However, the couple still has to face many hurdles with family because of the 9 years age gap

My Take
This is a lighthearted comedy. Glad that I chose this show for a good laugh, after 2 very intense shows. However, I found this show not realistic because Byeong Hee has been rejecting Cheol Su all along and suddenly it just took a crisis for her to realise her love for him ?

Other than that, some scenes are pretty touching, like how Cheol Su converted a van to a campervan all by himself, just because Byeong Hee once mentioned that her dream is to tour the world with her beloved.

The love story between Byeong Hee's sister and the sister's employer is pretty comical too. It's the other extreme, a young woman with a middle-aged man. I pretty much enjoy the scenes which featuer both of them.

Period Aired
20 Sep 2006 - 9 Nov 2006

Cast
Lee Seo Jin as Ha Kang Jae
Kim Jung Eun as Yoon Mi Joo
Jung Chan as Kang Sae Yeon
Kim Kyu Ri as Park Yu Jin

Synopsis
Yoon Mi Joo, daughter of a village pastor in one of the islands of Korea, worked her way to become a plastic surgeon. Although successful, she needs to support 6 adopted brothers and sisters back home, so she leads a frugal life in Seoul. Kang Jae, adopted by the boss of a secret society since teenage years, is a senior member of the same secret society. He has a long-time girlfriend, Yu Jin, whom he loves but refused to marry. Sae Yeon is the playboy son of Kang Jae's boss.

Kang Jae met Mi Joo when she mistook him for her pregnant sister's boyfriend. Mi Joo had wanted to confront her sister's boyfriend for dumping her sister, but Kang Jae and his gang helped her to beat him up and Mi Joo was impressed. Their paths crossed again when Mi Joo found that Kang Jae's girlfriend, Yu Jin, is her neighbour. At the same time, Sae Yeon was being matchmaked with Mi Joo by his mother, and he began to take a liking with Mi Joo.

Later, Mi Joo found that Kang Jae is the person who wanted to buy the land that her father's house is on. She met him and his right-hand man for a talk, but was being attacked by Kang Jae's enemies. Kang Jae, in order to protect her, was stabbed. Mi Joo, despite having sweared not to be involved in people's life and death, saved Kang Jae's life and nursed him back to health in the village. Their paths crossed again in China's Hainan Island, when Mi Joo accepted Sae Yeon's invitation to have "Cha Jiang" noodles there, and Kang Jae was there to bring Sae Yeon back to Korea.

As the story developed, Mi Joo and Kang Jae found themselves falling in love with each other despite finding out that Yu Jin is pregnant with Kang Jae's child, and despite Sae Yeon declaring his love for Mi Joo and Mi Joo accepted his short courtship. Fortunately or unfortunately, Yu Jin miscarriaged and Sae Yeon gave them his blessings. However, life has more in store for Kang Jae when he found out that his boss is actually and his father, and Sae Yeon was actually not his boss's son. After that a violent power struggle broke out in the gang, resulting in the death of his father. In a bid to seek revenge, Kang Jae hurt his enemy and was jailed.

Kang Jae and Mi Joo finally got together after his release.

My Take
This is one of the rare shows which has a strong sub-plot, as in the power struggle in the secret society. It is also not as slow paced as most korean drama, as you'll find new "issues" and happenings every episode to keep you glued to the TV ! I think the actors' are superb too! Especially the expressive eyes of Lee Seo Jin and Kim Jung Eun. There was one scene when Sae Yeon went to look for Mi Joo, and I saw that his eyes were all red ! Not sure whether it's a makeup effect, but Jung Chan's eyes were really red !

It's quite an enjoyable show with a handsome pair: Lee Seo Jin and Kim Jung Eun. I found that they are actual lovers in real life ! They got together after shooting this drama. Very happy for them.

Period Aired
8/11/2006 - 11/1/2007

Cast
Shin Dong Wook as Choi Jung Soo
Han Ji Hye as Yoon Jung-Won
Lim Jung Eun as Oh Yoon-Hyi
Kim Jung Hyun as Kim Do-Hyung

Synopsis
Choi Jung Soo was a gifted student in high school, but due to not-so-good family circumstances, he could not enter medical school even when he had extraordinary results. Fast-forwarding to 7 years later, Jung Soo was practising medicine in a hospital at a remote island in Korea although he does not have a license. He was mentored under a legendary surgeon who got ousted from Seoul long time ago.

Jung-Won was the Public Relations Manager of her Father's Hospital. One day, she and her team went to the remote island with the idea to convince the hospital to be a "sister" hospital of her Father's Hospital. Towards the end of her trip, she suddenly had acute appendicitis and need surgery urgently. Because Jung-Soo's mentor has left for Seoul to attend a medical conference, Jung Soo performed the surgery on her.

The surgery was a success. Although Jung Won left the island with her fiance, Do-Hyung, she knew that she had fallen in love with Jung Soo. Then Jung Soo got mistaken as a skilful doctor and employed by Jung Won's Father. Jung Soo accepted the job because he wanted to revenge for his Dad, who died in the same hospital because of a mis-diagnosis.

Not only did Jung Soo became the trusted doctor under Jung Won's Father, he even managed to win Jung Won's heart from Do Hyung. However, Yoon Hyi, Jung Soo's childhood friend and Do Hyung found out that he has lied about his credentials. As the story revealed, Jung Won still stood by Jung Soo even after he got jailed and her parents disowned her.

My Take
This was an average show...It was pretty slow moving in the beginning, and unbelievable too. I could not believe how could any hospital not gotten the license details from the doctor before allowing him to practice ! Oh well, but this is a show anyway.

I actually do not sympathise with Jung-Soo. Rather, I sympathise with Yoon-Hyi and Do-Hyung who did so much for Jung-Soo and Jung Won respectively.

Period Aired
18/9/2006 to 7/11/2006

Synopsis

In case you think that this is a continuation of My Wife is a Gangster 2, it's not. A collaboration between Hong Kong and Korea, Shu Qi plays the Chinese-Korean girl, Aryoung, daughter of a HK Triad Head. She offended some of her dad's friends, so her dad ordered her to leave the country for her own safety. She went to Korea to escape from the HK triads and also to look for her mother. She was hosted by Ki Chul, a gangster but kindhearted in nature, and his two friends. Ki Chul and his friends tried to protect Aryoung in many occasions when she was attacked, without knowing Aryoung can fight better than them. Hence through the many fights and after Aryoung's father's death, Aryoung fought to took over her father's triad, which she was successful in. It's only upon Aryoung's departure that Ki Chul followed her all the way from Korea. Aryoung accepted Ki Chul despite their cultural and language differences.

Cast
Lee Bum Soo as Ki Chul
Shu Qi as Aryoung

My Take
An ok movie, I find that not much depth though because I think the producer's focus was on the fighting scenes. It's more a comical show then the usual HK-style Triad show. I thought the catalyst of the show is the translator, whom Ki Chul employed to be able to communicate with Aryoung. She adds much comical essence to the show. She is the lady on the right of Lee Bum Soo in the photo above.

Year Aired
2006

Cast

Kim Ah-jung as Kang Han-na
Ju Jin-mo as Sang Jun

Synopsis

Kang Han-na is a very fat girl whose job is a backstage singer and a telephone sex worker, because of she had a beautiful voice but not a beautiful body. She was the backstage singer for Ammy, who has a beautiful body, but terrible voice. Han-na idolises her company's producer, Sang Jun, whom she thinks that truly cares about her. Unfortunately, during the post-concert celebration, Han-na not only got ridiculed by her colleagues and Ammy, she also overheard Sang Jun's conversation with Ammy in the toilet. Sang-jun told Ammy that even though they are just using Han-na for her voice, they must be kind to her so she will not walk out on them.

Furious, Han-na approached one of her telephone-sex clients, a plastic surgeon for a total makeover, without anyone knowing, not even her best friend, Chung-min. Han-na re-appeared one year later, totally slim and beautiful. Non of her past acquiantances recognised her, not even Chung-min. But she managed to convinced Chung-min that she is Han-na with a matching tattoo that they got previously. With Chung-min's help, Han-na managed to have an audition with the Sang-jun's singing company under a bogus name "Jenny", and Jenny very quickly became the next Korean pop sensation because of her great vocals and looks.

All was well, until Han-na refused to acknowledge her senile Dad, for fear of Ammy recognising her. Chung-min was very disappointed with Han-na's behaviour too. The cover was blown when Sang-jun found out that Jenny is Han-na due to the similarities that they have while making notes on the music sheet.

Han-na could not carry with her first performance after that because she felt that she has lost her family and friends. So she did a declaration during the performance which shocked the audience. But slowly, the audience came to accept whom she is, and Han-na finally is able to ditch the identity of Jenny and become herself once more.

My Take
This movie touched on the topic of plastic surgery, which Korea is so famous about. The movie shows that beauty is only skin deep, it's the internal qualities of a person which is important. On the hand, I thought the movie also shows that without beauty, you will take a longer and harder time to succeed in life. Just take a look at Han-na, she has to bear the pain of the surgery before she is able to do what she wanted. Oh well, a double-edge sword right ? The OST is fabulous!

Year Aired
2006

2

Cast
Eugene as Yuh Bong Soon [Real name given by Biological mother is Yeo Yoon He]
Lee Min Ki as Nam Bong Ki
Ryu Jin as Jang Joon Won

Synopsis
Yuh Bong Soon, a village girl, was enjoying her life in the mountains until her foster grandmother passed away. She came to the city to look for her parents and met Nam Bong Gi's Dad who pitied her (because she was pickpocketed) and allowed her to stay in his house. Nam Bong Gi's family were all working in the Presidential Residence, hence she managed to get a job as an assistant cook in there. This show then goes on to highlight the various relationships of the staff in the Presidential Residence, with special focus on Yuh Bong Soon, of course. She falls for Jang Joon-Won, the President's son, a doctor, who is married and his wife is suffering from dementia and has a five year old daughter. As Bong-Soon finds herself falling in love with Joon-Won, we also find a love triangle building up, when Bong-Ki, the President's family's bodyguard, starts to fall for Bong-Soon.

My Take
I like the show. My sister doesn't like the ending though, although I think otherwise. I admire the various sacrifices Nam Bong Ki did for Bong Soon, and could n0t resist the part when Bong Ki told Bong Soon "I love you" in different languages.

Year Aired
2006

Cast:

Hyun Bin as Han Tae Woong (Han Deuk Gu)
Sung Yu Ri as Kim Bo Ra
Im Ju Hwan as Suh Gun Woo

Synopsis

Han Tae Woong and Kim Jeong Kyu are best friends in one of Seoul's top maths and science school. Jeong Kyu, known as Korean's brainiest youth, has always been the pride of his father and he had high expectations of him. Tae Woong met a little girl being bullied by older girls for her money and saves her. The girl, being a lonely girl, develops a crush on him and gives him her pager for future contact. They met again and had a good time at the amusement park. Tae Woong found the "The Snow Queen" book at a second hand bookstore and asked the girl out again.

However, when Tae Woong beat Jeong Kyu at an international math Olympiad and got the top honours, Jeong Kyu commits suicide. Tae Woong was devastated and missed his appointment with the little girl, who waited outside the amusement park till dark.

Tae Woong blamed himself for Jeon Kyu's death and hence for the following 8 years, he gave up his studies, left home and lost contact with his single mum, changed his identity (to Han Dae Gu) and became a boxer (original dream of Jeong Kyu). At 25, in an unexpected turn of events, he met Bo Ra, the little girl he once knew. Tae Woong and Bo Ra fell in love and many obstacles stood in way, such as the revelation of Bo Ra is Jeong Kyu's sister and hence Bo Ra's father opposed to their relationship, and the relapse of Bo Ra's cancer, afterwhich she passed away.

Throughout the relationship, Tae Woong managed to find himself again and even earned a phd after Bo Ra's death. Bo Ra, managed grow from a icy cold person to a warm and nice person.

My Take:

A heartwarming story, quite like the story. Also love the scenery, very nice. But I feel that the drama moves pretty slowly. My sister commented that she had a hard time staying awake while watching the show...hee hee...Hyun Bin's acting is so-so only.

Year Aired:
2006

Cast
Ha Ji Won as Hwang Jin I
Kim Jae Won as Kim Jung Han
Kim Young Ae as Yim Baek Moo
Jang Geun Seok as Kim Eun Ho
and a lot of characters

Synopsis

This drama is about a famous Gisaeng in olden Korea, Hwang Jin-I. Gisaeng is the Korean equivalent of geisha. Heon-keum, Jin-I's birth mother and a gisaeng herself, gave Jin-I away to a temple after she was born, hoping to change Jin-I's destiny, because Korean law at that time states that daughters of gisaengs must become gisaengs. However, Jin-I saw a performance by gisaengs when she was 10 and fell in love with their music and dance. The gisaeng mistress, Yim Baek Moo, saw Jin-I's talent and recruited her and at the same time, Jin-I is reunited with her mother at the Gyobang (Gisaeng's house).

Jin-I blossomed under Baek Moo's teaching, however, she fell in love with a nobleman's son, Kim Eun Ho. Due to the difference in their social status, their love was strongly objected (by both sides) and Eun Ho died of a broken heart. From then on, Jin-I sweared to take revenge on all noblemen and on Baek Moo, because she believed the latter masterminded the entire thing.

Fast forwarded, Jin-I (Gisaeng name: Myung-Yol) became one of the most sought-after gisaeng in Korea, due to her beauty, wit and musical talent, but she never danced because she could not forget her first love. Then in a contest with her rival, she re-discovered her love for dancing. At the same time, she slowly fell in love with a high-ranking official, Kim Jung Han, who touched her with his sincerity and love. However, because of a dance glitch and the difference in their social status, the King put them to death. Jin-I managed to touch the King with a beautiful dance and begged him to release both of them but back to their original status and never to contact each other again, of which the King agreed.

With that Jin-I resumed her life as a gisaeng and became one of the best dancers in Korea.

My Take
The show lived up to its name. It is colourful, well-shot, touching and has memorable OST. I'm listening to it now, as I type this! 1 thing I do not understand is that why Kim Jae Won is rarely mentioned or not even featured in the drama photo although he is one of the main cast. The guy on the right in the photo above is Byuk Kye Soo, played by Yoo Tae Joon, who is the King's relative who tried to but could not win Jin-I's love. Ha Ji Won doesn't look her age as she is paired with 2 man younger than her: Geun Seok who is 20 years old and Jae Won who is 26.

Year Aired : 2006

Cast

Yoon Hyun Suh, adopted when he was young, became a successful hotelier in USA managing big hotels in LA. He has a gay adopted brother, and through him, met Choi Young In, a sassy girl who won a trip to US but broke off from her boyfriend. Hyun Suh left US for Korea to take over another hotel, and coincidentally sat beside Young Inn on the plane. During the flight, he sudddenly developed chest pains (as he has a heart ailment) and with Young In's pleas, the plane turned around and returned to LA to allow Hyun Suh to be treated.

When back in Korea, Hyun Suh gave Young In a concierge job in his hotel in return for her help on the plane. As Hyun Suh and Young In slowly fell in love, the story became complicated when Hyun Suh's good friend, Kang Soo Jin, revealed that her son is technically his, because she used his donated sperm to conceive. In addition, Kyle (Hyun Suh's subordinate in the LA hotel who followed him back to Korea) revealed that he is the son of hotelier whom Hyun Suh had acquired the hotel from, and is back for a vengeance.

Kyle also likes Young In, but Young In firmly loved Hyun Suh. The climax is when Hyun Suh's heart ailment worsened and he went for an operation secretly to prevent Young In from worrying. After operation, Hyun Suh spent his last moments with the 2 persons he loved most in his life: Young In and his son.

My Take

I feel that the plot is excellent and I find the cast fantastic, especially Ahn Jae Wook. He is able to pull off the character of Hyun Suh superbly, as per his previous debut in Oh Pil Seung. Although the ending is sad, but I thought it was very touching. Highly recommended.

YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/user/earthcrystal

Year Aired : 2006

Cast

Han Ji Min as Yu Mirae
Kim Jae Won as Kang Hyun Seh

Synopsis

Kang Hyun Seh started as a gangster in the show, who did not even keep in contact with his mother. His parents divorced before he was born, hence he had not even seen his father before. After his mother passed away, he was given the inheritance of the kindergarten that his mother founded, however, the only condition that he has to work 100 days in the kindergarten. As his gangster boss wants a share in the kindergarten, Hyun Seh was urged to fulfil the condition. As the story develops, a company wants to buy over the land that the kindergarten is on, to develop a children's theme park. And a fight between the gangsters and the company develops. On the other hand, Hyun Seh developed feelings for Mi Rae, his co-teacher in the kindergarten and also for the kids. Hence he decided not to sell the kindergarten. This enraged his gangster boss and the company and a lot of nasty things were done to him and the children. At the same time, Hyun Seh found that the boss of the company is his father.

My Take

The children are so cutttteeee!!! But but but I found the plot to be weak. It was kinda draggy in the beginning :(

YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mja_xVZG1Q

Synopsis

Kang Jae Kyung is the 18-year-old heir-apparent to a 5-star hotel. Born with a silver spoon, he is the typical spoiled boy who creates trouble everywhere he goes. His grandfather then decided that if Jae-Kyung wants to continue being the heir, he would have to transfer to 'Boram high school' in a remote area in Korea and graduate from there. Otherwise, Jae-Kyung can only inherit 0.1% of his inheritance. For the sake of money, he accepted the challenge.

In the village, Jae Kyung met Eun Whan. Like other shows, Jae Kyung and Eun Whan initially could not get along very well, especially with Jae Kyung's spoiled character. Eun Whan herself has an incurable disease. As time goes and many incidents that draw them together, Jae Kyung and Eun Whan falls deeply in love with each other.

Synopsis

"Sassy Girl, Choon-hyang" is the 2005 interpretation of the "Legend of Choon-hyang". The story begins when Lee Mong-ryong is transferred from Seoul to a high school in Namwon, North Jeolla Province. Chun-hyang does her best to help Mong-ryong, her first love and the son of the Namwon Police Station chief, to enter a prestigious university. However, after meeting with Mong-ryong’s first love, Chae-rin, Mong-ryong’s love toward Chun-hyang is shattered, although Chun-hyang’s love remains unwavering.

One day, Byeon Hak-do, CEO of a famous entertainment company, appears in her life. He exudes confidence that he can make any woman fall for him. But as Chun-hyang shows no interest in him, his self-esteem is damaged profoundly. Byeon Hak-do is determined to make her love him.

Source: KBS Global Marketing

Cast

Sung Chun-hyang: Han Chae Young
Lee Mong-ryong: Jae Hee
Byun Hak-do: Eom Tae Woong
Hong Chae-rin: Park Shi Eun

My Take

An ok, watchable show. Not very memorable though.

Year Aired : 2005

Synopsis
This is a drama in a fictitious setting by assuming that there is still a monarchy in Korea. 18 year old Shin Chae-gyeong is bethrothed to the Crown Prince Lee Shin by her long-deceased grandfather. CG accepted the marriage because of money woes in her family. The story then highlights the difficulties that she went through as a commoner learning about the rules and rites of the palace. Of course, things got more complicated, when Shin's ex-gf Min Hyo-rin decided that she wants Lee Shin back (after rejecting his proposal previously), and Prince Lee Yul (Lee Shin's cousin) fell in love with CG. Yul was supposed to be the Crown Prince, however, because his father (the then Crown Prince) died in an accident, he and his mum was forced to leave the palace because of the Korean Monarchy rules. Yul's mum returned to snatch back the throne and in the process, enlisted the help of HR. CG fell in love with Shin and Shin slowly realised that he loves her too and they live happily ever after.

Characters
Shin Chae Kyung : Yoon Eun Hye
Lee Shin: Joo Ji Hun
Lee Yul: Kim Jeong Hun
Min Hyo Rin: Sung Ji Hyo

Drama on Youtube :http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=lainemma

NG on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=wantmask

My Take on the Drama:
Somehow I got the feeling that the story is a mix of "Sweet 18", and Crown Princess Masako's story. But I enjoyed the drama because the characters were well-developed and the actors and actresses were handsome and pretty, especially Yoon Eun Hye and Kim Jeong Hun.

Year Aired: 2006

OST : http://asiandramamama.blogspot.com/2006/10/princess-hours-goong-ost.html