Tag: Shin Hye Sun

Review: Stranger

Posted October 1, 2020 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

Stranger

Male Lead: Cho Seung Woo
Female Lead: Bae Doona
Also Starring: Lee Joon Hyuk, Shin Hye Sun, Yoon Se Ah,Yoo Jae Myung, Lee Kyu Hyung, Moo Seong Choi
Year Released: 2017
Number of Episodes: 10
Genre: Drama
Country: Korea
Where I Watched It: Netflix
Recommended By: Bae Doona
Who I Watched It For: Bae Doona

Prosecutor Hwang Si-mok who, as a child, lost the ability to feel empathy joins a police lieutenant to try to uncover the true identity of a serial killer. While looking into the case, he must fight rampant corruption within the police department that continuously undermines the investigation. Si-mok vows to find the perpetrator within two months, but rumors about his violent nature pop up and lead to questions about his ability to lead the case. He eventually sets out to meet the person who he believes is the real murderer.

I chose to watch this drama because I saw that Bae Doona was in it. I became a fan of hers when I watched Sense 8 and wanted to see some of her other works so this worked out. This isn’t a romantic Korean drama. It’s a drama about an emotionless prosecutor who teams up with a police detective to find a serial killer. The writers of this show did a great job of bringing this everything together. The details, the characters, and the setting all played a part in making this show an interesting one. I had a couple of issues with the pacing in the beginning but I’m glad that I stuck with it because once everything came together, made sense and I got to know our main character, Hwang Si Mok better, the show really shined.

It took me a while to come to warm up to Si Mok’s character. He wasn’t a very likable person. Everything is black and white to him, there’s no room for the gray area that most everyone lives in and he’s not swayed by emotion so when things would happen around him, he didn’t react the way normal people would and I struggled with that and with him. The way that Bae Doona’s character, Han Yeo Jin was around Si Mok was exactly the way that I felt. She didn’t give up on him even though it would have been easier for her and I’m glad that she didn’t because they became a really great team that I came to like over the course of the show.

There were so many corrupt ass characters in this show that I spent a good amount of time pissed off at everyone and everything. But the more the story unfolds, the more interesting it was and the more interested I became in finding out how it all ended. So even though the pacing, in the beginning, was slow, the story picks up, the details fall in place and I was rewarded for sticking with this. Bae Doona was once again a freaking badass character that I adored and I want to keep watching her in another show and another show and another show. She’s so freaking great.

Final Rating

3.5 out of 5

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Review: She Was Pretty

Posted September 3, 2020 by Rowena in Reviews | 4 Comments

Male Lead: Park Seo Jun
Female Lead: Hwang Jung Eum
Secondary Lead: Choi Siwon
Also Starring: Go Jun Hee, Park Yoo Hwan, Lee Il Hwa, Ahn Se Ha, Shin Hye Sun, Hwang Seok Jeong, Im Ji Hyun, Seo Jeong Yeon
Year Released: 2015
Number of Episodes: 16
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Romantic Comedy
Country: Korea
Where I Watched It: Amazon Prime
Recommended By: Park Seo Jun
Watched it For: Park Seo Jun

This is a punny romantic comedy about 4 unique youngsters who fall in love. Once a popular girl, Hye-jin grew into freckles and curly hair. Sung-joon, a chubby kid, turned into a walking God. Ha-ri, the girl who seems to have everything lacks some sex appeal. Shin-hyuk, is a guy with regurgitative humor who has something to hide.

My boo thang Park Seo Jun is in this one so it was one of the first k dramas that I watched. It’s a romantic comedy that I really enjoyed. The entire cast charmed me right out of my socks and the main romance was super sweet and even though there were moments, where I was bashing my head against my desk, the overall show was entertaining as hell.

So this show is about Sung Joon and Hye Jin, two childhood friends who grew apart but are about to be reunited. Sung Joon was fat growing up and in school, he was always made fun of and bullied but the school’s pretty girl, Hye Jin, befriended him and was a support to him in their childhood years. When Sung Joon moves away, they keep in touch as best as they can but the years pass and they lose touch. Years later, they’re both older and their roles are reversed. Sung Joon grew up to be good looking as hell and Hye Jin succumbed to her father’s genes and grew up to have rough, red skin and kinky curly hair. Having grown up really pretty, Hye Jin has gotten used to her new role as a not so good looking woman and she’s even grown into her skin but all of that goes up in flames when Sung Joon calls her and tells her that he’s back in Korea and would love to meet up with her. At first, she’s super excited because her childhood bestie is back and she’s even thinking that maybe they can finally hook up because she used to have a big ol’ crush on Sung Joon back in the day. But the Sung Joon that shows up to meet her, is not the Sung Joon she’s expecting. He’s way more good looking than she was prepared for and so she runs away. Not only does she run away, but she makes her good looking girl best friend meet Sung Joon in her place and pretend to be her and that starts off a whole bunch of drama because when Hye Jin starts her new job, who else but Sung Joon shows up as her new boss?

Park Seo Jun and Hwang Jung Eum have great chemistry together in this show. I read on Tumblr and on TikTok that they play siblings in another show and then filmed this show afterward and they’re a couple. Talk about a range of acting skills, haha. From some accounts, it seemed to bother them but not me. I loved these two as a couple. I enjoyed seeing Sung Joon and Hye Jin grow closer. I was disappointed that Hye Jin and her girl best friend kept their lie running for so long, stringing Sung Joon along the way that they did but seeing him put the pieces together for himself and figure out the truth was satisfying when they finally did get together.

The second lead is Kim Shin Hyuk and he becomes work besties with Hye Jin at her new job. They both work for Sung Joon and he was such a character. I freaking adored the hell out of him. I was never rooting for him and Hye Jin together even though he was rooting for himself but I did really, really love him…for someone else. Sorry dude, but I will never root against Park Seo Jun. 😉 I really liked the friendship between him and Hye Jin and even came to love the bromance he forced on Sung Joon. He was so full of himself and so cocky, but in a good way, that I laughed every time he came on the screen. Every time he called Hye Jin, Jackson, I would crack up.

Overall, this show as a good one. It’s filled with humor, with charm and a cast of characters that will warm you right up. Every single character added a warmth to this overall viewing experience and I loved it. I definitely recommend.

Listen to the OST

Final Rating

4.25 out of 5

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