Korean Drama - My Fair Lady (2009 TV series)

My Fair Lady / Lady Castle

Rating: 9.5/10

CAST:

Yoon Eun-hye as Kang Hye-na
Yoon Sang-hyun as Seo Dong-chan
Jung Il Woo as Lee Tae-yoon
Moon Chae-won as Yeo Eui-ju
Wang Suk-hyun as Kang Sumin
Kim Yeong-kwang as Jeong Woo-seong
Lee Jeong-gil as Chairman Kang
Kim Myeong-gook as Director Kang

About the Drama:

This is a 16 episodes drama "My Fair Lady" starring actress Yoon Eun Hye, from "Coffee Prince".

Kang Hye-na (Yoon Eun Hye), the only successor of Kang-san Group, is the owner of the ‘Lady Castle’ and lives a ‘princess-like’ life with her servants. Hye-na’s parents died from a plane accident and her grandfather brought her up. Hye-na is strong-headed, selfish and world revolves around her; it is because she could not experience the warmth of family when she grew up.

One day, she comes across Dong-chan. He makes Hye-na to do community service, kidnaps her, and appears in front of her as the new household manager! Hye-na makes every effort to throw him out from the castle, but this guy has tenacity in him!

Kang Hye-na (Yoon Eun-hye)

Kang Hye-na owns the 'Lady Castle' and lives a 'princess-like' life with her servants. Losing her parents in a plane crash at a young age, she had a lonely upbringing, living under the care of her stringent grandfather. So, she neither knows nor feels the emotional warmth from others. For this reason, she is overtly indifferent and oblivious to others' feelings and situations and totally self-centered. Whenever she opens her mouth, she spills out blunt remarks to no matter who the person is. She has skills leveling any national representative when it comes to horse riding, fencing, and shooting. The only reason she holds these skills is to either humiliate men unworthy of her, or to add awkwardness to conversations.

Until one day, out of pure coincidence, she came across Seo Dong Chan who turned her life upside down. He not only does he caused her do community service, he even kidnapped her and later he became her personal assistant. Even after stepping on him, crushing him and biting him, he still doesn’t run away. She may have finally met her match.

Seo Dong-Chan (Yoon Sang-Hyun)
A former gigolo, Seo Dong-Chan gave up entering university and his first love and took the road of the gigolo in order to make money for operations of his mother with acute leukemia. Dong-chan became the best of the best in the gigolo’s world with his dashing looks, eloquent speech, excellent art of living, and great skills of adapting to circumstances. But he dropped the career as soon as his mother passed away. He is in debt for five thousand dollars due to his mother's operations.

One day, Kang Hye-na showed up and stimulated his competitive spirit. To him, she is one of the most arrogant and impudent daughters in the wealthy upper class families.

Dong-Chan made up his mind to enter the Castle and becomes her butler on the purpose of changing his whole life and cheating Hye-na out of the five thousand which he owed the loan shark.

Lee Tae-yoon (Jeong Il-woo)
Tae-yoon is a human rights lawyer. He rejects the advantages he can take from wealthy life of second generation of Chaebol. He is devoting his life to legal service for the poor in a shabby lawyer’s office. At first, he has no feelings towards Hye-na. However, Tae-yoon slowly gets to know her and he understands that she has her own scar and sorrow in her mind that is not portrayed.

Yeo Eui-ju (Moon Chae-won)
She has grown up like siblings with Dong-chan. She is a kind of mentor who helps Dong-chan do right things as well as the closest person who worries about him and supports him to get his life on track. Eui-ju's special interest in him, her unrequited love is hidden.

Comments:

OMG I can't help but teared at the very last episode when she wrote the letter to Butler.

I love the interesting twist when the 2 losers (Lee Tae-yoon and Yeo Eui-ju) in love got together and slowly became good friends and at the end of the show when its hinted that Lee Tae-yoon might be interested in Yeo Eui-ju. Wasn't it obvious?

My Fair Lady (2009 TV series) English Subtitles (Completed)

Korean Drama - The Legend

The Legend

Rating: 8.5/10

The Cast:

Bae Yong Joon as Lord Hwanwoong/Dam Deok
Lee Ji Ah as Sae-oh/Suzini
Moon So Ri as Kajin/Gi Ha
Oh Kwang Rok as Hyeonko
Choi Min Soo as Daejangro
Yoon Tae Young as Yeon Ho Gae
Kim Ho Young as young Ho Gae
Park Sang Won as Yeon Garyo
Park Sung Woong as Jumuchi
Lee Philip as Cheoro
Park Jung Hak as General Go Woo Cheung
Jang Hang Sun as Heuk Gae (Julno chief)

About the Drama:

"The Legend" starring Bae Yong Joon in the leading role,this Korean blockbuster retells the saga of King Kwanggaet'o of the ancient state Goguryeo and is awash with big battle scenes, and abit of The Lord of The Rings-like visual effects.

The story also adds mythical elements of the Four Symbols depicted in fantasy form as the four guardians who serve the king of Jyushin. The addition of fantasy to a Korean historical drama makes this series unique and distinguishes itself from its predecessors in Korean television series. The characters also speak in a modernized Korean language which marks a departure from a typical historical drama.

It is also one of the most expensive Korean production ever, at 43 billion won (S$60.27 million). Kwanggaet'o's reign marked a high point in Korean dynastic history, and the drama follows his rise to power, military conquests and romantic encounters. "The Legend" is also a continuation of the drama about King Jumong who was the founder of Goguryeo.

In "The Legend", the story starts with 2000 years ago before the founding of Goguryeo. The god's son, Lord Hwanwoong, was sent from the heavens to make the world a better place.


There was tribe that respected the tiger and controlled fire called the Ho-jok (Tiger Tribe), who ruled the world. They eliminated and assimilated all tribes except the tribe that respected the bear, called the Ung-jok (Bear Tribe). The Tiger Tribe and the Bear Tribe fought, and Hwang-woong could not bear to see so many people getting killed. He brought the three gods of nature; Poong-Baek (백호, the White Tiger), Woonsa (청룡, the Azure Dragon), and Woosa (현무, the Black Tortoise).

Kajin is the leader of the Tiger Tribe, she was wounded while being attacked another tribe, and was dying while Lord Hwang-woong healed her. This convinced Kajin not to be against Hwang-woong. Lord Hwanwoong removed the power of fire from Kajin, sealed the power into an artifact called the Heart of Jujak (주작, the Vermillion Bird). He fell in love with Sae-oh and gave her the phoenix necklace along with the power of the phoenix (initially belonging to Kajin).

After Kajin recovered, the Tiger tribe did not listen to Kajin and decided to attack the Bear Tribe. Kajin then killed her tribe's council with her own blade, escapes and heads towards the Bear Tribe, wanting to be Lord Hwang-woong's woman.

However, Kajin becomes jealous after Sae-oh had given birth to Lord Hwanwoong's son. She takes the baby and throws him off a cliff. Sae-oh, thinking that her son had died, is overcome with grief and turns into the black phoenix to destroy the world.

Lord Hwan-woong had to kill her to stop her. After that, Lord Hwan-woong returns to the Heavens and prophecise that 2000 years later, the true Joo Shin King will come to Earth. With the help of the four gods, he will rebuild the kingdom of Joo Shin.

The story then starts from the birth of the great king two thousand years later. The trouble begins when two boys are born on the same night to the same royal family.

Dam Deok the bright mature one, who is brought up by a cautious father and taught to hide his abilities and does not know that he is born during the sighting the of the Jyusin star initially. He had grown up to be a pleasant young man, but in his heart he always suffered because of Hogae's mother who had committed suicide, causing Ho Gae to believe that Dam Deok had killed her. He was later found to be the destined King of Jushin.

As the 19th king of Goguryeo, he was initially despised by the leaders of the four tribes that form his parliament due to influence from Ho Gae's father who was the chancellor of the parliament. However, he proves himself to be an excellent fighter and a schemer who can win battles without a single casualty on his side.

Dam Deok's cousin, Ho Gae who is encouraged by his ambitious mother to show off and prove he is the true monarch to everyone. He grows up as the heart-throb of the kingdom and is widely accepted as monarch-to-be as everyone knows that he was born on the night of the sighting of Jyusin star. When they were kids, Ho Gae was very open and pleasant towards Dam Deok, but after his mother's death, he resolved to take revenge and proving that he is the rightful Joo Shin King. He also hated Dam Deok as the woman he loved, Gi Ha only has eyes for Dam Deok. He had won many battles as early as his teens, and grew to be a powerful warrior.

Enter the world of two orphaned, long lost sisters who might both be reincarnations of the Phoenix. One sister, Gi Ha, was adopted by an evil cult, raised and sent to the palace as a priestess since young as a bait to hook the future king (who was thought to be Ho Gae). She met Damdeok by chance one night in the royal library and began to have a crush on him. Their relationship was fine, until the day that Damdeok's father faked his death as an assassination by Gi Ha to prevent any harm on Damdeok. She changed after that and became vicous and cold-blooded, especially after seeing Dam Deok being close with Suzini. Suzini is the other sister and she grew up on the streets.

At the end of the series, he realizes that the task of the King of Joo Shin was to answer the gods whether humans needed their help to continue surviving. He answers by unsummoning (through breaking the Cheongung/천궁: literally Heavenly Bow) the heavenly artifacts of heaven to avoid killing more people, especially Kiha who was then about to release her power which would consume the world again and of the Four Gods. The answer he told the gods was that he should return the powers and that humans could carry on by themselves. Having said that, he returned to the heavens, leaving behind his lover Sujini and son (who was bore by Kiha) on earth.

Comments:

Lee Ji Ah, I like her most, her style as Sae-oh reminds me of final fantasy characters, looks totally beautiful and mythical. As Suzini, she is like the female version of Legolas from the Lord of the Ring. She looks so cool fighting battles alongside Dam Deok with her bows and arrows. Her character was very funny as she likes drinking and gambling and was not like the typical female heroine.

I kept hoping that Dam Deok would like her and they would be together in the end. I was also quite irritated with Ho Gae's character towards the end as he was blinded by his love for Gi Ha and just following whatever she wants.

I did not really like the ending and was hoping that there could be more scenes of Dam Deok and Suzini towards the end. I totally did not understand the ending actually. It was only after reading some of the synopsis written that I finally understand what is going on. LOL.

Taiwan Drama - Knock Knock Loving You

Knock Knock Loving You

Rating: 8/10

The Cast:

Yuan Fan Resort:
Dylan Kuo as Cheng Xue Ge 程雪歌
Liu Shang Qian (劉尚謙) as Cheng Zhi Ang 程志昂

Yao Shi Corporation:
Wu Ya Xin (吳亞馨) as Yao Zi Wang 姚子望
Zhang Chen Guang as Yao Wan Chuan 姚萬傳
Feng Yuan Zhen (馮媛甄) as Yao Zi Qi 姚子期
Ah Mei as Yao Hui En 姚匯恩

Huang Xin Financial:
Ming Dao as Zhao Guan Xi 趙冠希
Coco Jiang as Zhao Guan Li 趙冠麗

About the Drama:

Upon returning from USA after news of his father's terminal illness.Cheng Xue Ge (dylan Kuo) Has to restore his family's crumbling bussiness,the Wei Lin Resort at Empress Town.

Cheng Xue Ge had lived in the life of comfort and never knew the dark side of human nature until his father's company bankrupted.

In order to restore the company, he must learn from his archrival, Yao Zi Wang (Wu Ya Xin), the ins and outs of being a shrewd, successful businessman. While working closely together, he slowly realizes her coldblooded ruthlessness was only a front to protect her battered heart.

But his commitment for the job had made him neglect his girlfriend, Tang Qing Wu(Jacqueline Li)and she ends up marrying someone else instead. Zi Wang on the other hand is torn between her personal freedom and family ties when prominent director of Huang Xin Financial, Zhao Guan Xi(Ming Dao) sets his eyes on having her hand in marriage, which was swiftly approved by her father.

Zi Wang turns down the proposed marriage and was disowned by her father.

Comments:

First I totally cannot stand when Yao Zi Wang's (Wu Ya Xin) father actually pays no heed to her existance, she has proved to be a wonderfully smart and shrewded business women, how can he ignores that fact only because she is a girl?? What centuary is he living in? A girl has no use in his business? OMG...

Second of all I cannot imagine how Yao Zi Wang can do this to Zhao Guan Xi (Ming Dao)!! OMG!! I talked to a few friends about this shows and each and everyone of them said the same thing.

I would say that the ending is really disappointing, I thought that the name as it suggest should mean "falling in love unknowingly" or "Quietly Falling in Love with You" and that the Zi Wang will eventually fall in love with Guan Xi who is quietly and supporting and loving her and of cos trying all means for her to fall in love with him. What a stupid ending! Ending should have been better then that.if the ending is different, the show is definately a great show...too bad.

If you like happy ending, please don't watch this show, definately not considered as happy ending to my measure. Some would say its a total waste of time...

Taiwan Drama - My Queen/败犬女王

My Queen/败犬女王

Rating: 9.0/10

The Cast:

Ethan Ruan as Lu Ka Si 盧卡斯 (Lucas)
Cheryl Yang as Shan Wu Shuang 單無雙 (Veronica)
Wen Sheng Hao as Song Yun Hao 宋允浩 (Leslie Sung)
Yang Ya Zhu as Han Jia Jia 韓佳佳

About the Drama:

This is a light hearted romance Taiwanese drama (21 episodes) starring actor Ethan Ruan

The Opening theme song 沒有如果 is a song from Fish Leong's latest album.

This drama talks about the relationship of an older woman with a younger man. I watched an episode of the drama earlier after reading great reviews of the drama online and on the newspaper and likes the plot and acting of the two main characters and am gonna watch the first few episodes online :> The drama will focus on how Shan Wu Shuang faces up to her true feelings and the difficulties she faces in dating a younger man.

What will happen when Shan Wu Shuang (Cheryl Yang), a 33 year old beautiful, hardworking yet single woman, meets Lucas (Ethan Ruan), a 25 year old romantic and handsome regular worker? There is an 8 year age difference – what kind of story would then be created? At 33 years a sensitive age where one should have long got married, yet she refused to believe in love anymore after being abandoned by her fiance 6 years ago where he disappeared on her. A story that will let us laugh and let us cry. I’m not defeated! I’m the Queen!

Comments:

My queen features the love life of a woman in her early 30s (Cheryl Yang/ 杨谨华) with a successful career, strong headed but remained unattached for 6 years because of her first love until she met a handsome guy (Ethan Ruan/ 阮经天) who is 8 years younger than her.

When my friends told me to watch this show, the first thing that came to my mind is that OMG the lead actress is damn ugly, her face is so long!!! I read through some of the comments that some made regarding the show said the same thing. But after watching the show for a while she actually looks acceptable.

So don't give up on her. Her eyes are big, her nose is sharp, very beautiful features. In fact if you watch the show carefully the actress is kind of pretty...just that her face is really too long...I guess it is due to the hair style that the hair stylist has done for her is really not very well done and does not bring out her beauty.

I have asked a few friends who had watched the show, and found out that those who has brothers younger then them will never choose to accept anyone that are younger then them. Especially will never accept someone 8 years younger then them. Many had choosen the "Senior" instead of Ethan Ruan.

I really find the last 2 episode of the show very meaningful. It shows what a couple faces when their status in the society is so different.

The plot is simple but realistic. The success of this drama really count on both the leading actor and actress because of their convincing performance.