Stove League review

 

Drama name: Hot Stove League

Country: South Korea

Year: Dec 2019- Feb 2020

Stumbled across this drama after Kkhondae Intern re-run ended. They aired it on the same slot and it captured my interest instantly as I saw it was Chief Kim! :D (Nam Goong Min) Couldn't wait for the episodes to be aired so I watched the rest of it online. 

So, what's this drama about?

Dreams baseball team was not doing well at all. It was at the bottom of the league and the parent owner wants to get rid of the team altogether to cut their losses. However, the CEO of Dreams decided to hire a new general manager to try to turn the team around. 

In comes Baek Seung-Soo, a very capable individual that manages to turn any failing business to a success. Mr Baek has no experience or knowledge of baseball but he was still hired for his outstanding portfolio. CEO Kwon makes a deal with Mr Baek to turn the team around and then disband. 

The rest of the show goes on with how Mr Baek reshuffles the team, from the players right up to the operations level. He faces lots of opposition along the way while trying to save the Dreams team. 

Overall thoughts

This is my first time watching a sports k-drama and it was really good! Not a typical k-drama as you would expect, no romance just a solid story with lots of good actors. Even if you don't know much about baseball you would be able to follow the story. 

Best parts of the drama

Definitely the Dreams team chemistry. It was a mess at first but eventually they all came together and became a real dream team! 

The Dreams stadium is pretty impressive too... 

The highlight of the drama for me was the meeting of Dreams and the Vikings for a practice match before the season started... 

Some of the struggles while trying to get the team reshuffled... 

Mr Baek facing opposition from CEO Kwon himself... Seriously I don't get this guy, I mean like you hired him to fix the team but then he goes and try to destroy the team along the way... smh! 

For you hungry mukjang fans there are some yummy food in this show as well. If you know the name of the dish below please let me know! 

Special mention

I love the friendship between the Vikings general manager and Mr Baek. Haha, Mr Baek seems to be using him all the time but actually he does care for the Vikings as well. 

Conclusion

The parent company of Dreams decided to get rid of it entirely. It was some nail biting moments where Mr Baek tried to get another company to buy Dreams. He finally managed to break a deal with a young IT company securing the jobs of all the operations team. However, the CEO said that his shareholders did not want Mr Baek in the management at all. Nobody knew about this deal until the last minute. 

It is a bit of a bittersweet ending... Dreams went on to do very well in the season and became the comeback kid. From last place to the top of the table. The final match was between Dreams and the Sabres. I was very disappointed that they did not show the final game, but I am guessing that because of the Covid-19 situation that was starting to explode during the time of filming. Or that they didn't have enough budget as they spent it on filming in Hawaii earlier. XD 

The drama ends with a radio broadcast that the Dreams won the championship and Mr Baek heading to another new job. 

I enjoyed watching this drama. Although midway I must say the struggles was a bit tiring and boring to some point. Nam Goong Min nailed this character so well, he seem to have the best comeback lines to slap his critics each time. XD Loved that so much... As I am writing this review, I saw in the comments that there will be a season 2. Not sure if it will be as good as season 1... 

That's all for now. Will leave you with this cute pairing... no romance but just a hint that they might end up together... ;D 

Good Casting review

 

Drama name: Good Casting
Country: South Korea
Year: April- June 2020

Heard about this drama through the K-drama community, was excited for its release as I thought it would be a female version of Terrius. Luckily it was aired on my local cable TV channel so I was able to watch it every week as it was being aired. 

So, what's this drama about?

Baek Chan-Mi is a NIS agent and she was in charge of an operation to catch the mastermind behind a syndicate which was leaking valuable information to China. Chan-Mi is a crazy mad hat person and she goes all out in every situation without care for her team members. This resulted in the death of a member in her team and the target that they were after escaped. 

Chan-Mi was then demoted as team leader and she spent two years as an unwanted NIS agent doing obscure missions. She was deeply affected by the death of the team member and she was obsessed in finding the killer which goes by the name, "Michael." 

Chan-Mi's ex boyfriend who is also a NIS agent recruited her for a new mission that requires her to go undercover in a tech company. However, she is straddled with two other female agents that will be her new team members. 

The story goes on with the trio infiltrating the company to get information and finally catching the elusive "Michael." 

Overall thoughts

As I mentioned earlier, I thought this would be another spy drama like Terrius. Turns out that this is a Korean version of Charlie's Angels! Haha! It was an entertaining drama with lots of comedy, action and romance as well. However, you will need to leave your logical brain behind for most of the parts and just enjoy the show as it is... 

Best parts of the drama

Baek Chan-Mi herself... I found myself falling in love with her crazy character from Episode 1 itself. When she beat the crap out of the other prison inmates... Everyone was afraid of her, thinking she is some psycho mental person... XD 

The Wash and Clean van... haha, it's so cute and it was their mobile operations truck...  Seriously who wouldn't suspect a cleaning van parked outside a building all day... XD

Celebrity Kang's house and cars are really nice... Haha, he was screaming when his personal assistant decided to call it quits and drew on all of his cars... 

I also liked the comic style narration while they were explaining each operation... 

Some yummy looking food too... 

There were some cute plushies featured in this drama as well... the huge duck was really hilarious... 

Notable scenes

The bodyguard moment with Celebrity Kang and Im Ye-Eun... haha that was really funny and sweet! 

Another funny scene was at the laboratory of the bad guy... He thought it was a ghost in the air-con vent.. XD 

Conclusion

After countless operations and close shaves... Chan-Mi finally closes in onto Michael... It was a flurry of action and comedic scenes.... to a sad scene where the loyal right hand man dies... Man, why did he have to die? 

They managed to capture Michael which turns out to be the lab guy. But the syndicate lives on as he was killed while he tried to escape from the hospital. Don't worry guys, there is a happy ending for all the ladies! Celebrity Kang and Ye-Eun becomes a pair, Hwang Mi-Soon and her family becomes better... and the main leads Chan-Mi ends up with Yoon Seok-Ho... I really liked their relationship it was so sweet. 

The drama ends with an open ending, with another mission to accomplish... 

A light hearted drama with lots of comedy, action, romance and some espionage all mashed together... :D Sang-Yeob is good looking as ever... I did enjoy watching this show but not enough for a repeat or second season. The chemistry between the three ladies was really good. I loved all of them... I'll leave you here with the sassy trio. Hope everyone is doing well. I still have a lot of drama reviews but I'm just too tired to compile. Haha... take care everyone. 

Backstreet Rookie review

 

Drama name: Backstreet Rookie 
Country: South Korea
Year: June- Aug 2020

I jumped into this drama around Episode 7 or 8 while it was airing on my local cable TV. Didn't backtrack to watch the earlier episodes until much later... Though I completed the drama not long after it finished airing. 

So, what's this drama about?

Choi Dae Hyun is a thirty something year old man who runs a franchise convenience store nearby his home. It is his dream of operating such a store after working for the parent company as a sales manager for a couple of years. 

However, running the 24-hour store by himself has taken a toll on him and his family asked him to hire a part-timer. Dae Hyun was reluctant at first because the store was not making any money and he couldn't pay the wages. Eventually he caved in and posted a vacancy sign on the store's main door. 

Enters Jung Saet Byul, a high school drop-out who applied for the position. Dae Hyun hires her only to realise she was one of the high school girls from three years ago, which asked him to buy cigarettes for them as they were under-aged at that time. His impression of Saet Byul was not a good one from the start, and the rest of the story goes on with how Dae Hyun and Saet Byul's relationship grew from one of distrust to a one filled with love. 

Overall thoughts

This drama is along the likes of "What's wrong with Secretary Kim?" (Which should be entitled, "How Secretary Kim got married" instead) and Backstreet Rookie should have been called, "How Saet Byul got her man" (Sorry, not sorry) Yes, it's how a high schooler's crush became a reality and she managed to nab her dream man's heart in the end. 

I am aware that this show is based off an adult webtoon and the story line contains sexual content... (read some online comments) However, I'm giving this review solely based on watching the drama as with most of the audience that have not read the webtoon. 

Best parts of the drama

The convenience store itself... I know we have seen countless k-dramas with the 24-hour store where the leads will eat ramyeon or buy beer... :D It's nice to see it as the setting of the whole drama for once. (I'm also guessing because of Covid-19 restrictions so it's a perfect place to film rather than going to various locations for shooting) 

Ji Chang Wook visuals... Yes, I know... you ladies out there are watching for this handsome individual! XD He does not disappoint of course. Even wearing a convenience store outfit he still looks good! 

Lots of ramyeon eating in this show... Haha! Yes, alongside with other food as well. I wonder how much did the cast consume while filming... 

Comedic scenes and the second leads pairing... I know, there was a big controversy regarding the second lead's character portrayal... However, the pair's relationship was far better than the main leads. I actually continued the episodes just to watch this couple instead... 

Notable scenes

The creepiest stalker smile which I have ever seen!! I'm not kidding. The flashback scene where Saet Byul spies Dae Hyun in the convenience store while walking in the rain with the umbrella. Seriously... what was the writer thinking?! 

I know that girl has been crushing on him for years... but really... do you stalk your crush with a creepy smile? Hahahaha.... I'm sorry, I cannot. 

Besides that, I do admire Saet Byul's fighting ability in the show, at least a female lead that can fight so badass! Nice. 

Conclusion

As you already know by now it is a good ending... but as usual k-drama style, right before the main leads get together forever there will be a separation. This part irritated me a lot... When Dae Hyun finally recognises his feelings for her, Saet Byul plays runaway. And she runs to the countryside and works on a farm. 

Honestly, in real life a pretty girl like her will be r*ped or maybe kidnapped already because she is so pretty. Not implying that countryside or farms are dangerous or bad, just in society and real life it does happen. But in a k-drama it is all safe and the farm belongs to the second lead's father... Hero comes to persuade her to come back to his store and work. Saet Byul saves the hero from some bad guys on the farm but refuses to follow Dae Hyun back. She returns to the store some time later... 

The show ends with the couple about to kiss, but then they broke the fourth barrier... They looked at the camera and turns around to reveal the whole cast and crew in the back scenes. I get that the writer did this to prove that the show does not contain any of the sexual content as the webtoon has. Throughout the whole duration of the the show's airing, it was constantly getting criticisms that it was not family friendly and it was kinda like, "In your face" reply from the team. It was an interesting ending concept no doubt. 

The drama title gave me the impression that it could be some street guy who is street smart that champions justice maybe...but I was so wrong. :(  I was totally disappointed that the story had no story actually. For those who love romance, you won't be disappointed. There is a huge face on kiss in the first episode even... and there are countless scenes of romance between the leads. 

It was just an okay drama. Both male and female are handsome and pretty, so if you are a fan of either one you might still enjoy the drama. Thanks for stopping by. Will leave you with the second pair weaving in the webtoon name into the drama...