A few months ago I discovered hulu's collection of korean dramas, and let me tell you, I'm hooked. Maybe its because they remind of when I was young, in highschool, and I would spend hours pouring over korean teen magazines while listening to L'Arc En Ciel & HOT, or maybe its because of the awesomely hilarious story lines. Whatever it is, I'm hooked. As such, I figured I should do a quick review of the serials I've seen thus far.
First, I started off with a drama called Boys Over Flowers. Based on a popular Japanese manga series, this show was really quite good. What really got me hooked was how convincingly the actors played their roles. The story is about a poor girl (Jandi) who all of a sudden finds herself going to a rich, exclusive private school, as a result of saving someone's life. Once there, she rubs the "it" crowd of boys the wrong way at first, but slowly they all come to like her. She really likes a brooding, quiet, musical-type guy named Jihoon at first, but ends up falling in love with Junpyo, the richest guy, who at first comes across as a real jerk but slowly warms up through the series. Boys Over Flowers was definitely a great way to start out.
Next was Pasta, a show about a struggling sous chef who falls in love with her head chef. The thing that struck me most about this show was how much detail they incorporated, not just about Italian food, but the technical side of cooking. The details are what made the series convincing for me. The drama seemed realistic because it wasn't just about interpersonal relationships, it involved things that really go on in a kitchen, like resentment over one person holding the line up, etc.
Finally there was My Lovely Sam-Soon, which has been my favorite so far. Actually, every time I watch a serial I think that one is my favorite, so who knows. Anyhow, My Loveley Sam-Soon is about a chubby patissier in her late 20s who finds herself desperately alone as she approaches her 30th birthday. She loses her job, her boyfriend of three years cheats on her & leaves her, and finally when things seem like they can't get any worse, she gets hired by a french restaurant owned and operated by a punk in his mid-20s who thinks money is the answer to everything. Of course they eventually fall in love, and she changes him for the better. The part that I like, though, is that over the series she changes, too, so you get to see some real character development.
Next on my queue is Coffee Prince. I don't really know what its about yet because all I have seen so far is previews in Korean without subtitles. I'm guessing it has something to do with a girl who could pass as a boy who gets a job as a waiter by pretending to be a boy. Sounds strange, but let's see.
