Mask Korean drama review

 

Drama name: Mask 

Country: South Korea

Year: May- July 2015

This drama was aired on my local TV channel during the lockdown earlier this year. They were showing Terrius before that, and I was happily enjoying the rerun until it ended. It was replaced by this drama but the subs on the first episode were all messed up! I watched it trying to figure out what was happening and gave up the next day by not watching episode 2. Lucky I came back to watch episode 3 and the subs were alright after that. Due to the slow pace of the drama (and also the network seem to repeat the half of the episode on the next day... it was really annoying!) I continued the rest of the show online. 

So,what's this drama about?

Byun Ji-Sook comes from a working class family who runs a small restaurant. She works as a salesgirl in a department store selling handbags. However, her life is like hell because she is constantly being chased by loan sharks due to the loan which her father took. 

One day she had a shock of her life when she saw a rich woman named Seo Eun Ha who looks exactly like her while she was working at the department store. She helped the Eun Ha pick up a wedding ring. Unbeknown to her, her life was about to be transformed by meeting her. 

Ji-Sook was approached by a strange man who offered her money to take on the identity of Seo Eun Ha but she refused at first. Unfortunately, she was caught by the loan sharks who wanted to get rid of her because she had witnessed an accidental murder of another man by them. With her last desperate attempt to live, she called the strange man and accepted his offer. 

The rest of the story goes on with how Ji-Sook takes on the identity of Seo Eun Ha, which requires her to marry a rich guy named Choi Min Woo. She struggles to keep her identity a secret and also battling internal forces from within the rich family. 

Overall thoughts

It is quite a nice drama to watch. The episodes keep you hooked on for more. However I must say the female lead was annoying to some point because of her weak character. But luckily she transformed almost past midway and finally redeemed herself somewhat. 

Best parts of the drama

The interior of Min Woo's bedroom and Eun Ha's house... 

The main house and even the cafe is also nice... 

The relationship between Ji-Sook and Min Woo... From an arranged contractual marriage to one of real love and trust.... 

I must say the villain guy is really handsome and scary at the same time! Haha... hard to believe he is the nice guy in 2 days 1 night! 

The second lead female, she is so pretty and evil too.... 

Not much of yummy food for the foodies but still looks delicious... 

Special mention

The villain's right hand man... I don't even know his name in the show! The silent loyal bodyguard who does all the dirty job for his boss. No explanation on why he is so loyal even to the very end... 

Conclusion

There was some separation time between the main couple when Min Woo found out the truth about Ji-Sook's identity. However they managed to overcome it and the final showdown was the press conference where they exposed the villain to the media... 

The most heartbreaking scene between the villain and his wife, Mi-Yeon... and the real reason for all his evil doings is for revenge... 

Lots of onions for that scene.... Mi-Yeon commits suicide while allowing her hubby to escape. He realised that she killed herself and turned himself in. Some closure scenes where Ji-Sook went to jail and the villain feeling remorse and realised that he does love Mi-Yeon in the end... There is a hint that he will be joining her soon, meaning he will kill himself I guess... :(( 

Happy ending for the main couple! After Ji-Sook was released from prison, she rejoins her family and Min Woo. One of the rare kdramas that show the couple get married and have a child together... 

I did enjoy the drama despite it being draggy at some point... I watched it at first because it is the same Coffee Prince girl, it's weird seeing her with long hair here but she really blossomed into a pretty lady. Didn't like the male lead at first, but fell in love with him later hahaha!! 

Only drawback is that there was no explanation on how Ji-Sook and Eun ha could look exactly the same. I thought there might just be a short by-story when they showed Ji-Sook's family tree planting part... perhaps Eun Ha could have been her identical older sister. Just a shame the writer didn't try to connect that part for just a bit. 

Alright, that's all for now. Thanks for stopping by! I will leave you with Ji-Sook and Min Woo walking down a lovely road together... 

*Image credits Dramabeans, Google image search and own screenshots*

Sweet Stranger and Me review

Drama name: Sweet Stranger and Me/ Man Living at my house (Literal translation title)
Country: South Korea
Year: Oct- Dec 2016

The title intrigued me so I started watching this drama. I thought it would be the usual tenant and landlord kind of story, handsome guy moves in and falls in love with the landlady. But it's not that.

So, what's this drama about?

Hong Na Ri, a senior stewardess, thought her life is going well but finds out her fiance of 9 years is cheating on her with her junior. Na Ri's mother also passes away suddenly in an accident. She returns to her mother's house after a year of grieving only to find a young guy has moved in and taken over her mother's dumpling business (Hong dumplings).

The young guy, Ko Nan Gil, apparently is her stepdad. He married her mother before she passed away. Na Ri thought he was a con-artist at first but eventually she discovers that he is doing it for a reason. The rest of the story goes on with Na Ri uncovering the secrets behind Ko Nan Gil, her mother's marriage and the land in which her mother's house and Hong dumplings is built on.

Overall thoughts?

The first few episodes were interesting, it kept you wondering what was the secret, what was going to happen next. But as the story went on, there was little development and it got rather boring.

Best parts of the drama?

To be honest, there's not much interesting interior spaces in this drama. However, the scenery of the surrounding area of Na Ri's house and Hong dumplings is really nice. 

I enjoyed the bicycle rides and lakeside scenes: 

Even the farm where Nan Gil grows vegetables gives you a nice peaceful feeling: 

The robot museum is pretty unique. I wonder if it really exists in Korea? 

Duk Bong's office and room in the robot museum: 

Duk Shim's bicycle is really lovely!

One of Nan Gil's dumpling boys, Joon's car: 

Only in the later episodes there were some cafes: 

Some pretty cool nightlights at a resort (?) where Nan Gil and Na Ri went for a short holiday: 

More scenery: 

Notable scenes:

The beginning episodes where Nan Gil was trying to be a stepdad to Na Ri, resulting in a hilarious moment with Duk Bong: 

The part where Na Ri peeps into Nan Gil's room while he changes his clothes. It was rather creepy too, if you think of it that you're seeing your stepdad undress... But it's drama, so nobody cares... :D With a sexyback like that, who can resist? ;P 

The dumpling boys, Nan Gil's workers in Hong Dumplings. There was one guy who was really cute and funny. The other two, Hani and Joon are Nan Gil's friends (sort of brothers/ followers) that he met while in prison. 

Over commericals

I know that Coffeesmith is one of the main sponsors... but seriously, there has not been a drama like this where almost every cafe scene is in their premises! Even Na Ri's best friend is working there, yes they even had to squeeze that in at the very last episode... 

Fashion

A special mention for Kwon Duk Bong's dressing in this drama. I know Nan Gil has his share of turtlenecks but Duk Bong takes the trophy for best dressed. :D 

Conclusion

There is a happy ending, Nan Gil and Na Ri gets together and his marriage to her mother was annulled. The land issue settled with Dada Finance guys thrown to jail and Duk Bong's father giving up on the land. However I must say the ending is really cheesy. Na Ri's father who ran away after creating all this mess and also Na Ri's gambling uncle gets to enjoy the benefits of Hong Dumplings under Nan Gil's care. Duk Bong's father gets away without any justice for the burnt orphanage. Although it happened more than 40 years ago but still I felt that issue was not given a proper closure. As with Na Ri's mother's death, I'm still not clear if she really died in a car accident or that Duk Bong's father/ Dada finance people killed her. 

I'm really relieved that this drama has ended. I don't think I could stand another few more episodes of constant flashbacks and the staring game. Yeah, there was so many staring moments between the male and female lead... I was like, "Can you guys stop staring already??!!" Omo, yasss it's finally over!!