First of all, would like to apologize for the 3-in-1 post, its not that the drama not worth a post of their own; its just I don't have the time. Hehe...the time I have infront of the pc better spent on watching more drama right? furthermore I will only be long-winded rambling uninteresting facts... lets see if I'm not long winded now :P
I lurvvvvvveee late March and begining of April!!!! It was the only time when my workload is lighter. Usually I was bored filling my time surfing the net but this year, oh my! I was busy watching the recently airing of kdramas; one part after another; one episodes after another; one drama after another... I was blissfully content eventhough I didn't go out for lunch (like today!). Back then, I was watching Cinderella's Sister, Oh! My Lady, Personal Taste, Dong Yi and after stumble-watching Birth of A Rich Man, my curiosity make me follow up on that drama also. But alas, reality intrude.... I had to drop Dong Yi (because it's such a long drama so I'm gonna wait for the boxset or asked my niece for her downloaded files) and Personal Taste cause at the time the streaming linkages were broken so I gave up!
Why I decided to watch OML? I don't really know myself... Got enough of older females who falls for younger male also, but I like Chae Rim so maybe I thought I gave the drama a chance. At first, I don't know why the vikiii viewers go gaga over Choi Siwon (from reading the comments above), I don't find him that cute... I continued watching because I got time to kill... but then cute Ye Eun (Kim Yoo Bin) comes into the picture and I was hooked. It's getting better when I start to see Siwon in a clearer picture as well, his facial expressions are so adorable. He make me a converted Super Junior's fan!
Ok, more about the drama. Sung Min Woo (Choi Siwon) is a top star, a singer and an actor; albeit not such a good actor but his fans still love him no matter what he do. While Yoon Gae Hwa (Chae Rim) falls on hard times, financially broke that she had to send her daughter to live with her ex-husband with his new wife and she herself had to stay in sauna bath house (don't know if they have a special name for this kinda place, to lazy to surf and find out). Well, on that note I just dont understand why cant her bestfriend (the doctor) helps her out and bring her to live with her and her family, the sofa living room would be better than that public place right?
Anyway, she found a temporary job as a maid and she has to be secretive about employer because he's a well-known celebrity. That employer tends out to be Min Woo but she cant hold n to the job long because she made many blunders with Min Woo. She tries to find job elsewhere and find one in the Show Company but the thing is she only get the job if only she can get Min Woo to sign up with the company's production. I think it was during this trip to grovel to Min Woo to sign up that she stumbles on Ye Eun, who was sent by her mother by taxi to Min Woo's apartment. The taxi driver and the front guard of the building was only too happy to left silent Ye Eun in Gae Hwa's care for Min Woo was not home. So it was Gae Hwa who encounters Min Woo incredulousness when he was presented with Ye Eun who in the note that was in her luggage was told to be his daughter. To cut the story short, he hired Gae Hwa to be the nanny cum maid in return for her silence and his cooperation to sign up in the Show Company production.
Ye Eun is so adorable! Make me wants to adopt a Korean baby!!!!
Will the two fall in love? What about Show Company's manager, Shi Joon (Lee Hyun Woo) who seems to care of the welfare of his newest staff and whose wife is having an affair. Min Woo's first love (Park Han Byul) -the girl who only being polite to him when he was a nobody but now flirting with him now he's popular- also there to remind Gae Hwa what is her position.
Ok, there's no chemistry between Chae Rim and Siwon maybe because despite Chae Rim child like face she still has the aura of an ahjumma and Siwon still looks so young compares to her, but still it was enjoyable to see these two interacts. And I like the above refrigator-kiss scene; maybe because the way Siwon puts his hand on Chae Rim's waist (faint! Gentlenment Siwon) ^_^ then there's Ye Eun and Siwon.....melts! Spoiler! Its a happy ending but still I felt like the ending was kinda wrap up so quickly and you felt like 'that's was the ending???"
Get ready for a little bit of Siwon-expression spam!!!!
Now, Birth of the Rich was not something I planned to see also. Not only the synopsis does not perk up my interest but apart from Lee Bo Young - which I mildly like because she was Jo Hyun Jae's heroine in The Ballad of Suh Dong - I never watch the other 3 lead casts works before. But I caught middle of ep.1 and watch full ep.2 so my curiousity kicks in...who's the father????
The synopsis is like this Choi Suk Bong (Ji Hyun Woo) was in search of his father. His mother had a one-night stand with a stranger after being dumped by her boyfriend. The thing is after waking up in a hotel with a nearly-total stranger and then move to the hotel's restaurant, she didn't have the chance to ask his name and his hers? The guy look like he's falling for her but then an emergency call cut their breakfast short and all he had time was to scribble his phone no on his favourite book and told her to call him. When he was gone she asked the Concierge who was he, and get the answer that he's the heir of a chaebol family. Really, get a name girl!!! Sure enough many months later she found out she's expecting so she hesitantly make a call to him on a phone booth but then she saw and elderly lady falls and rush out to help her and the book was left on the phone! When she came back for it later it was already gone. So Suk Bong had grown up with only the tale that his father is a chaebol, no name, no face to identify him with except for the pendant necklace his father had given to his mother saying it was one of a kind.
Suk Bong was working at hotel own by Lee Shin Mi's father. Lee Shin Mi (Lee Bo Young) although born rich, but she was being stingy to a fault. Her stinginess and strictness personalities clashed with Suk Bong, even after Suk Bong saves her life in a car accident, she still wary of his intentions; was he searching for his father because he is his father, or because he was told that his father is a chaebol?
The second lead couple is Bo Tae Hee (Lee So Young) who also the daughter of a chaebol and has been in love with Choo Woon Suk (Nam Goong Min) for a long time. The only problem is he's pursuing Shin Mi. What I don't get is if he's really pursuing Shin Mi because he like her better than Tae Hee or simply because Shin Mi's father is much richer and more powerful compare to Tae Hee's? ^_^ My niece said she found Tae Hee's character annoying but I rather find her adorable and refreshing... she does not hide what she feels or what she thinks, such a rare open book that soon Woon Suk can't help fall for her too. (p/s: Shin Mi's and Tae Hee's personal assitant are beautiful also... so maybe this drama is to attract more on male viewership than female for really the male lead is not such an eye candy at all, though I like Ji Hyun Woo's facial expression)
So who is Suk Bong's biological father? Is it Shin Mi's father? Or Tae Hee's father? or another person? Well, I like that the pace of the drama keeps you guessing one episode after the next who is the father and why did he not come in search of Suk Bong's mother. How did the 'book' end up with Shin Mi and the phone no. on the book is Shin Mi's no.?
Btw, I'm trying to find the song that keeps playing I think ep. 15-16, when Suk Bong is thinking whether to keep seeing Shin Mi or not when he found out the REAL story...so if anybody knows let me know...
Now, Cinderella's Sister was on my watchlist the minute I learned about it and when it aired I really really lurve it, the modern twisted version of the famous fairytale. I was non-commital when Moon Geun Young was praised for her acting talent but now yeah I have to agree she was pretty talented for such a young actress ( she should keep her hair long cause that was when she was most beautiful).
Eun Jo (Moon Geun Young) was living with her mother Kang Sook (Lee Mi Sook) with her mother's boyfriend and his nephew (I think) Jung Woo. The man was always abusive when he was drunk so Eun Jo thinks it's only a matter of time before her mother left him and sure enough a fight ensued and Eun Jo grabs her mother and ran away from the house. But alas even if the man itself cannot catch them so he calls for help. Part of the reason why he wants them back is that Eun Jo also manage to "pack up" the diamond engagement ring he intends to give to her mother. The chase party manage to get to them when the train they are boarding stop at the next station and Eun Jo tries to hide in the toilet cubicle but inside there's already another girl. Eun Jo then tell the girl to keep the ring safe for her and the girl name was Go Hyo Sun (Seo Woo).
On a different note, Lee Mi Sook is a beautiful and talented lady. When I first saw her in this drama, her face seems familiar to me but I can remember in which drama I've seen her before only in the 2nd or is it 3rd episode did it dawned on me she is the stern mother in East of Eden. Much as you want to hate her in this drama I can't seem too, I rather hate her in East of Eden....I wish I will age gracefully as her when I get older hehehe...
Go Hyo Sun was a pampered daughter of a well-off businessman, Go Dae Sung who lost his wife to cancer when Hyo Sun was only 6 years old. So when Kang Sook came in search of Hyo Sun for the ring and saw the estate and the servants of the makguli producing business, she set her cap on Dae Sung. She easily anbd fastly access the situation and became the motherlike figure Hyo Sun wants her to be, the demure charismatic woman Dae Sung wants to see. When finally her traps get caught, Dae Sung sent Ki Hoon (Chun Jung Myung) to get Eun Jo to live with them. (I'm not really sure what Ki Hoon relationship with Dae Sung is or how they met, is it because Ki Hoon's has a hidden agenda or just coincidence that he found a safe haven).
So there, the beginning of the drama, an emotionally-impaired-with-high-fortress-around-her-icy-heart Cinderella's Sister that is Eun Jo and Hyo Sun the-pampered-and-indulged Cinderella. Will Ki Hoon be the prince charming? but how can he be when he's the black sheep of his own family? Then there is Jung Woo (Taecyeon of 2PM) whose heart he had given to Eun Jo all along when she was he one who feed and care for him when they live together... I thought his character was so wasted in the earlier part of the drama cause he only stood on the background and watching the drama revolves around the family plus then my eyes are so glued to CJM. But then when the prince charming CJM turns dark and cloudy, loses his charming smile.... I was kinda hoping that Eun Jo will finally see her shadow as a man. Sigh! I'm rather dissapointed with the ending of this drama or even the storyline of it halfway through this drama. So maybe I should finished watching a drama before recommending it to anyone right?
So anyway, Jang brought the runaways to his mother village before they all flee to Silla. He and Mok Ra So asked the identity of Jang's father, but she still keep the secret. She told Jang to come back to her when he was 20, then she would tell him who his father was, but alas she was killed by the soldiers who was pursuing them. They all took refuge in Silla, where they became tradesman supplying goods to the Silla's palace. There, while delivering the goods, Jang met Princess Seon Hwa for the first time...
The love story between Jang and Princess Seon Hwa was truly a better "Romeo and Juliet" story. Born to two different enemy states, at first Princess Seon Hwa thought that her royal title was nothing but a burden, separating her from Jang. She was willing to give it all up, her princess status, her parents, life of luxury, her country just to be with him, just a lowly peasant. I would call any real person who did this stupid and naive, but since this is just fiction...what-the-hell, it was touching to see a love so great, that there's nothing she would not do for him. It brought to mind the phrase, 'behind a successful man, stood a strong woman', it was true in this case, cause without Seon Hwa, it might not be possible for jang to raise to greatness. She was there to paved the way for him, always there when he needed her, when he's feeling lost and defeated, she pull him back up again and prod him to move. But what has he done for her?
Lee Bo Young was beautiful as Seon Hwa, but she just don't have the chemistry on screen with Jo Hyun Jae. And when she tries to be playful and mischievous, it just isnt the same class as Lee Da Hee and Yoon Eun Hye.
