Tag: Han Hyo Joo

The Wednesday Five: K-Drama Romances

Posted July 20, 2022 by Rowena in Features | 0 Comments

I’m a list person. I have a list for every single thing in my life from a to-do list, a list of books that I want to read, a running shopping list, and in the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing different k-entertainment lists that I’ve been keeping track of. You’ll be seeing my top 5 lists of stuff like my current celebrity crushes, my favorite k-drama female protagonists, my favorite k-drama male protagonists, my to-be-watched k-dramas, and you know, stuff like that.

This week’s Wednesday Five will feature My Favorite K-Drama Romances. When I say k-drama romances, I don’t mean k-dramas that are romances. I’m talking about the romance between two characters in a k-drama. I hope that makes sense. I’m a romantic at heart and will sniff a romance out of everything that I consume so I’m always shipping characters together. Today’s list will be on the k-dramas that made me swoon so hard. Check out my list which is in no particular order.

1. Fight for My Way

My Drama List | Viki
Starring: Park Seo Joon, Kim Ji Won, Ahn Jae Hong

I’m not sure what it is about these two but I absolutely adored their friendship that led to more romance. They were just a lot of fun and their romance had its fair share of dramatics but also had a good amount of swoonworthy moments. Watching these two best friends fall in love with each other was so much fun and just super sweet. I’m a HUGE fan of this drama and an even bigger fan of the romance in this k-drama.

2. Goblin

My Drama List | Viki
Starring: Gong Yoo, Kim Go Eun, Lee Dong Wook

This one might be a little controversial because of the age difference between the main leads in this drama but that didn’t bother me so much because nothing happens between the two while Eun Tak is in high school. Even when she’s grown up, Kim Shin is steadfast in his refusal to date her. She’s his goblin bride and you can tell that she’s very dear to him but the way that he watched over her, cared for her, and took care of her made their slow-burn love just that much more endearing to me. I ugly-cried so much throughout this entire drama but the romance was just *sigh* so stinkin’ good. One of my favorite love stories of all time.

3. Strong Woman Do Bong Soon

My Drama List | Viki
Starring: Park Bo Young, Park Hyung Shik, Ji Soo

Oh goodness, I think this is the romance that I go back to re-watch the most. These two had such great chemistry and they brought their romance to light so freaking well. The way that Min Hyuk loved her on his own for so long before she finally wises up and realizes that he’s the one for her, not Gook Doo. The payoff here was so sweet. I just melted at every turn of this romance because I loved it so much.

4. My Roommate is a Gumiho

My Drama List | Viki
Starring: Jang Ki Yong, Lee Hye Ri, Kang Ha Na

I’ve only seen Lee Hyeri in one other k-drama (the guest star in Record of Youth doesn’t count) and I loved her ass so much. She just has this vibe that I adore so I went into this drama for her but came out, a huge fan of the romance between Woo Yeo and Lee Dam. A lot of my love for their romance was the chemistry between the two actors but I loved the fantasy behind it all as well. They worked through their issues together and I loved that Lee Dam, no matter how things looked, trusted in her love for Woo Yeo to get through everything. Woo Yeo didn’t deserve Lee Dam a lot of the time but he always did better and through it all, I never doubted his love for her. So their romance was one that I cheered for most earnestly.

5. Happiness

My Drama List | Viki
Starring: Han Hyo Joo, Park Hyung Shik, Jo Woo Jin

I adore both of these actors so I was looking forward to the two of them starring in a drama together and they did not disappoint. I loved this friends to lovers romance and I gotta tell you, Park Hyung Shik plays the smitten best friend really well. I loved seeing Sae Bom fall in love with Yi Hyun and I loved seeing Yi Hyun protect and love Sae Bom on his own, quietly until she caught up to him. The way that they were a true team that loved and protected each other against everyone and everything just made me love their romance so much.

So what are some of your favorite romances in k-dramas? Share them in the comments!

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Review: The Beauty Inside

Posted August 18, 2020 by Rowena in Reviews | 2 Comments

The Beauty Inside

Male Lead: Park Seo Jun
Female Lead: Han Hyo Joo
Also Starring: Do Ji Han, Kim Dae Myung, Bae Sung Woo, Chun Young Woon, Park Shin Hye
Year Released: 2015
Genre: Contemporary, Fantasy
Country: Korea
Where I Watched It: Viki
Who I Watched It For: Park Seo Jun

This is a different kind of identity crisis.

Woo Jin is a young man who works as a furniture designer. He has a great life with the woman he loves, Yi Soo (Han Hyo Joo), if it weren’t for one little problem.

Every morning, Woo Jin wakes up to discover that he is inhabiting a different body. It could be the body of a young, good-looking man (Do Ji Han), a portly everyman (Kim Dae Myung), a middle-aged man (Bae Sung Woo), an old man (Chun Young Woon) or even a beautiful young woman (Park Shin Hye)!

Every time Woo Jin wakes up in a new body, he has to figure out where he is and how he can find his way back to Yi Soo, who is always waiting for him. Will there be a day that Woo Jin can’t find his way back?

“The Beauty Inside” is a 2015 South Korean film directed by Baik. It is based on the 2012 American social film by the same title directed by Drake Doremus.

In making my way through Park Seo Jun’s work, I came across this movie. It’s an interesting premise for a story and Park Seo Jun is in it for more than five minutes so that was already a win for me. Ha!

So this movie is about a man named Woo Jin who wakes up every morning in a different body. His emotions and everything inside of him is still Woo Jin but his outside changes every time he wakes up in the morning. Sometimes he’s a handsome young man but sometimes he wakes up as a portly old man or a grandmotherly type old woman. In the beginning, you can tell that he is struggling with waking up as a not so gorgeous person. He’s kind of vain and the disappointment he has every morning when he wakes up in an ugly person’s body had me side eying him. He enjoys the days that he wakes up in a beautiful body and even capitalizes on it by hooking up with girls he meets at the club or the bar. He leads completely different lives every single day with the new faces and bodies but the one thing that stays the same is his crush on the saleswoman at the furniture store that he goes to.

Woo Jin makes furniture for a living and he spends time in a furniture store, in all of the different faces and bodies that he wakes up with. He lives a very complicated life, a life that keeps him away from people and because of that, he’s very lonely. The only people that know about his condition are his best friend and his mother. His best friend comes off as bubbly and low key pervy but as the movie progresses, you see that he’s still all of those things but he does care and support Woo Jin.

The theme of the movie centers around the beauty inside of a person. No matter what body and face Woo Jin woke up with, on the inside, where it counts, he was still just Woo Jin. When we first meet him, he’s struggling because a part of him is vain and pissed off that he’s not normal and that causes him to do something pretty extreme. When he wakes up in Park Seo Jun’s body, he thinks that this is his shot. He’s going to approach the furniture store girl and he’s never going to sleep again…and it works, he pursues the furniture store girl and hooks her with his good looks then wins her over with his personality and all of that goes up in flames when he falls asleep because the minute he wakes up, he’s in a different body and Park Seo Jun is gone so he does what we all expected him to do. He runs.

Han Hyo Joo did a great job in portraying the character Yi Soo in this movie. I was really invested in her journey. From her first meeting Woo Jin with Park Seo Jun’s face and body, to her falling in love with him in a matter of days and then going through being abandoned by him, learning the truth about him and then accepting him and trying to figure out how to be with him. It wasn’t an easy journey but seeing both of them struggle with their different issues was interesting and I really connected with both of their characters, with the whole movie in general. The pacing in the beginning of the movie was a little slow but once things picked up, they really picked up and I ended up really enjoying the movie and the message. I cried a lot but my heart grew and grew with every minute that I watched this so I would definitely recommend this one. It’s good.

Final Rating

4.25 out of 5

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