Full House

As far as I'm concern, this is the one of the best Korean drama ever produced next to the all time favourite, Jewel in the Palace. And no, I'm not a big fan of Rain. What captured my attention was the chemistry between the two main characters, Han Ji-eun and Lee Young-jea. It was fantastic. Athough the series was adapted from a 1993 comic, the story was 'cooked' to perfection with all the necessary ingredients of human emotions that made it an all time favourite.

Han Ji-eun and Young jea are two very different people from very different background. Han Ji-eun was an aspiring script writer who lived alone in a beautiful seaside bungalow her father built. Her loving parents passed away when she was about 17 years old. With no relatives to take care of her, Han Ji-eun lived alone and became attached to her friends from school. One day, out of desperation, her friends tricked her to leave for China for a week and then sold her beautiful property to a superstar actor, Young Jea while she was away. These two clowns needed money to prepare for the birth of their unborn child.

On the flight to China, Han Ji-eun sat next to Young Jea, who was filming a movie there. Han Ji-eun tried to make small talk but Young Jea was very aloof and a bit rude. As it was her first flight, Han Ji-eun became sick and accidently threw-up on Young jea's shirt. He was very angry with her but when he returned to the seat after cleaning himself in the washroom, Han Ji-eun was asleep with her mouth open. He left his shirt in the seat pocket and alighted from the plane with his bodyguards while Han Ji-eun was still asleep.

Later it turned out, they stayed at the same hotel. It was at the hotel that Han Ji-eun met Min Heok, the handsome rich businessman who is also Young jea's senior and best friend in school. Min Heok was at the hotel to meet Young Jea. When Han Ji-eun realised she had no money left for her filght home and that she was conned by her own friends, she decided to take a bold step by borrowing money from Young Jea.

She convinced him that she was Min Heok's ex-girl friend who was unfairly dumped and needed help. He loaned her some money and she vowed to pay him back when she return to Korea. Young Jea had other plans in his mind. He was in love with Hye-won but she was in love with Min Heok. Hye-won treated Young Jea like a friend.

Onced back in Korea, Han Ji-eun got the shock of her life when she found her home was totally bare, her savings gone and her credit card spent to the max by her friends. She was furious and tried to find her friends and get her money back. Young Jea returned and was jealous to find Min Heok sharing a light moment with Hye-won at her boutique. He called Han Ji-eun and set-up dinner plans with Min Heok and Hye-won. He wanted to reveal Han Ji-eun to Min Heok, thinking that it would reveal Min Heok's true colours to Hye-won. But, the plan failed and he found out that Han Ji-eun tricked him. They parted ways that night.

When Young Jea arrived at his new house, he was surprised to find Han Ji-eun at the front door with her lugage. She told him her story and he confronted his agent. The agent cannot explain the fraud but he had no choice but to throw her out. One thing led to the other, and he eventually agreed to let her stay but only as a housekeeper. Later, he forced her into a 3-year marriage contract where in the end, she gets to keep the house.

Han ji-eun eventually falls in love with Young Jea but tries to deny it. Meanwhile he continues to long for Hye-Won. Things became complicated when Min Heok falls for Han Ji-eun, Young jea's parents involvement in their marriage and the return of her friends.

I cried and laughed while watching this movie, and I saw it three times. I'm not the kind of person to do this but this just shows how good the drama is. I must add that the music had played a large part in the success of this drama series.

Overall, this is definitely a box office drama series that shouldn't be missed. I'd gladly give it a perfect 10/10.

Sunshine of Love

How do I do this kindly? This is probably the worse Korean drama I've ever seen in terms of storyline. I guess the producer of this drama tried to do something different from the normal and proven successful love stories and failed miserably.

The story begins with Yan Yu, a daughter of a slain baker who had to support her kid step-sister who is seriously ill. Her mother died a few years back after remarrying a man who is as old as Yan Yu. She was furious with her mother's decisioni and has never treated her step father kindly. The marriage produced her kid step-sister, Yi Kang.

Yi Kang needs expensive medical treatment and surgery but her irresponsible father is jobless and a video game addict who often borrow money from others. He sometime steels money from Yan Yu who works hard to save money by being a waitress and peddler at the same time. Her burden transformed her from a jovial teenager into a cold and heartless woman.

Her long-time best friend, Min Ho, who is secretly in love with Yan Yu is always by her side. Yan Yu treats him as a friend/brother though she knows Min Ho's true feelings towards her. Min Ho, a traffic policemen, promised her to find her father's killer and bring him to justice. In the process, he befriended a veteran police inspector who later became his step-father.

One day Yan Yu saved Billy, an estranged son of a wealthy businessman with high political ambitions. Billy has been living in Paris with his mother for years. They moved to Paris after Billy saw his father strangle a person to death (which turned out to be Yan Yu's father). She brought him back to her home reluctantly after he begged him to take him in. He was being chased by his father's stepson, who wanted get rid of him. Billy was an award winning baker who returned to Korea without his mother's knowledge to stop his girlfriend from marrying another man. He failed to stop the wedding.

To cut it a long story short, Yan Yu fell for Billy for his kind ways and this made Min Ho jealous. Eventually, Billy also falls for her but they somehow stopped becoming lovers because of Billy's father AND because both loved Min Ho. Min Ho saved Yan Yu from Billy's evil stepbrother who wanted to kill her because his father named Yan Yu as the sole beneficiary of his wealth upon his death (out of guilt of course). Both Billy and Yan Yu just do not have the heart to hurt Min Ho. In the end, the three decided to live together as friends!!!

Overall, I think the story is weird and awkward. These are some questions that pop in my head after watching the drama. How could Yan Yu love both men at one time? Billy loves Min Ho to the extent that he is willing to share her? Wait, is he gay? Min Ho doesn't have any pride and is very selfish. Why does he stay and spoil the party when he knows Yan Yu doesn't love him? It's a bit too much for me to swallow...

That's why I'm giving this drama 2/10.

My Lovely Kim Sam Soon

It’s a story about a 29-year-old woman named Kim Sam Soon. Prior to turning 30, Sam Soon had basically three goals, i.e. to find love, to officially change her name to Kim Hee-jin and to run a bakery business. She graduated in Paris and was a highly qualified pastry chef, who, has the habit of baking cakes and pastries to relax. Nothing was going right for Sam Soon at the start of the story. Her long-time boyfriend dumped her for a slim, pretty, rich, and younger woman. Worst, people often laughed when she introduce herself. And she was jobless. She lived with her mother and elder sister who returned from Paris after a divorce.


The story starts with Sam Soon’s series of bad luck. Her luck changed when she was offered a job as a pastry chef in an expensive western restaurant called ‘Bon Appetite’. There, she met Hyun Jin-heon who was 3 years younger than her and who was also the owner of the restaurant. Jin-heon, was not a very nice boss and often bully her.

However, forced by desperation for money, Sam Soon approached her boss for a loan. At first he flatly refused. Later he agreed, but on the condition that she agreed to pose as his girlfriend and fiancé for the next few months. Sam Soon reluctantly agreed and vowed to pay him back as soon as she could. Jin-heon had his own problems. He was trying to runaway from his mother’s arranged marriage plans. He thought he could convince his mother to stop, thinking that he was already involved in a serious relationship with Sam Soon.

Gradually, Sam Soon developed feelings for Jin-heon and later confessed. Jin-heon, on the other hand, was confused especially when his ex-girlfriend, Lee He-jin, returned from the United States to continue their relationship. Jin-heon refused to admit that he loved Sam Soon and forced himself to start again with Hee-jin. At about the same time, Sam Soon’s ex-boyfriend returned and started to woo her back despite being married. He wanted to make her his mistress.

This drove Jin-heon crazy and he finally understood his feelings for Sam Soon. He confessed to Sam Soon but was too afraid to break-up with Hee-jin. Hee-jin was suffering from an eating dusorder and had just recovered from cancer. Obviously, the poor woman found out and fell ill again. It worried Jin-heon but luckily, her hunk of a doctor cum friend… Daniel Henny… was there to support her. She decided to return to the US with Dennis but requested Jin-heon to accompany her to the US for one last time and stay for a week. Jin-heon was reluctant but went ahead after seeking ‘approval’ from Sam Soon.

Surprisingly, he didn’t return as promised. After waiting around for months, the broken hearted Sam Soon decided to move on and start a bakery shop together with her sister. When Sam Soon was starting a new relationship with another guy, came back. He claimed that he has been sending postcards to her while travelling alone in the US. Of course Sam Soon accepted him back but the ending is not 100% happy and is a bit disappointing. If you want to know, buy the DVD la.

One outstanding thing about the drama was that Sam Soon’s character wasn’t the typical feminine roles Korean dramas often portray. In fact, she’s quite the opposite. She has bad hair, a bit fat, poor sense of fashion, rough demeanour, often uses rude language and has a really bad temper. It amazes me how an anti-hero character would grow into such a lovable one.

Overall, I’m giving this drama a high score of 8.5/10. It’s highly recommended for those who are desperate for a good laugh. It has many funny scenes that would make your eyes water with laughter.