38 Task Force review

Drama name: 38 Task Force/ Squad 38
Country: South Korea
Year: June- Aug 2016

My then (now ex-colleague) introduced me to this drama because of Seo In Guk. I had just finished watching Shopping King Louis at that time and she told me this show was pretty good. So, I downloaded it but never gotten around to watching it...(^_^V) During the lockdown in March, I remembered this drama and decided to watch it after all these years! :D

So,what's this drama about?

Baek Sung-Il is a public servant working as a tax collector. His job is to collect taxes from everyone in the city, ranging from the very rich to the very poor. He leads a small team that goes around to companies and individuals to collect the unpaid taxes. As we all know, there will be those who evade tax and that makes his job tougher. His team gets chased, beaten or threatened on a daily basis.

What makes his job worse is that his superior sets a target of 20 million to be collected. Baek then decides to go after the biggest tax defaulter, which is actually protected by his superior and even the mayor. It is a twisted world, where the rich are being let off while the poor are being taxed to the max. 

Baek Sung-Il doesn't earn much. One day he tried to get a second hand car and got conned. He was so upset that he got help from his detective friend to help get his money back. This is how Baek met Yang Jung-Do. Jung-Do is a professional con artist, and he was on a mission to con a list of people for revenge. 

As Baek was facing mounting pressure to reach his 20 million target and tired of being stepped on by untouchable rich people, he asks Jung-Do for help in exchange for not pressing charges against him for the car con.

The story goes on with the unlikely duo teaming up to collect unpaid taxes from the rich, forming a friendship and also uncovering the secret agenda behind Jung-Do helping Baek to collect taxes. 

Overall thoughts

It was kinda of ridiculous to think that a government servant would ask help from a con artist to collect tax. Maybe because I have watched the later dramas such as Switch and Mad Dog, I found this drama pale in comparison. It was only saved by the good acting of the two male leads. 

Best parts of the drama

I thought it could be a mukjang drama, with all the yummy food being shown in the first few minutes and also throughout the episodes... 

The bromance between Baek and Jung-Do... From a thin line to a strong bond between the two men while executing the cons together. 

The rag tag team of con artists formed by Jung-Do... It's always nice to see people working together to accomplish a task and feeling great afterwards... 

Okay, wait... what... no interiors today? Of course there is one! :D Jung-Do's apartment, he is staying in a posh place with all that money he conned from others... dayum... 

Notable scenes

My fav would be the first successful con from the big shot... Jung-Do instructed Madam Noh to dump all the money unto the streets from the building... It was raining money! 

Special mention

Madam Noh's right hand woman, who is her daughter actually. She's so badass. Love her! 

Conclusion

It was a series of cons and it always seemed that the group failed but then actually they succeeded. I guess this is the world of conmen... Con to be conned... Hahaha... Jung-Do had to sacrifice himself for the final con, and he went to jail. Baek gets to keep his job as a tax collector, the mayor steps down and the bad guys somewhat defeated. A good ending overall, just a small twist in the jail where Jung-Do meets a guy that looks exactly like Baek! Haha! I wonder what was the writer aiming for, a second season or something... who knows.... 

The drama is an okay one for me. Not really over the top, just alright. If you are into these kind of team action dramas then it will be a nice watch. I still prefer the newer dramas to this, I guess it's not really fair because this drama came out first and the later ones improved on it.. Haha, sorry man! Just my honest thoughts... ;D 

Alright, that's all for now. Hope you are staying safe, I have not been watching any new dramas because of the overall down mood... Covid, life... I'm sure many out there are also feeling the same. Just hope things will improve slowly... Take care everyone. 

I'll leave you with Jung-Do and Baek with the truth about life... 

Miss Lee

Drama name: Miss Lee
Country: South Korea
Year: Sept - Nov 2019 

I stumbled across this drama on my local cable TV, which has TVN Asia channel. It was already airing Episode 2, and I started watching it. It was quite nice and I liked Miss Lee as she kinda looks like me hahah!! I know! Smh... ^_^V So I continued watching it as the weeks progressed. 

So, what's this drama about?

Lee Sun-Sim, or known as Miss Lee by her co-workers is a lowly accounts clerk in a small electronics factory named Cheongil Electronics, which manufactures vacuum cleaner parts for a larger conglomerate TM Electronics. She's basically the office girl who runs errands for everyone and nobody gives any respect to her of any kind. 

Miss Lee never complained much but was grateful to her colleague, Ji-Na who helped her get a job in this factory. However, Ji-Na was not a good person and she conned Miss Lee to buy the company shares from her as she already knew that the company was in the red. Ji-Na then disappears with the money. 

Cheongil Electronics owner, Mr Oh had developed his own vacuum cleaner and wanted to sell it on his own. He had enough of the sub-contractor relationship with TM Electronics but what he did not count on was that TM was very powerful and they worked against Mr Oh in trying to launch his product locally as well as overseas. 

Cheongil was going to be in bankrupt status, so Mr Oh decided to run away. The overwhelming debts of Cheongil was just too much so he faked his own death, leaving the employees of Cheongil in a lurch. They were at a loss at what to do, and during a drinking session they elected Miss Lee as the new president of Cheongil. 

The rest of the story goes on with Miss Lee trying to keep Cheongil Electronics afloat and fighting off acquisition by TM Electronics together with the help of the remaining employees. 

Overall thoughts

This is a really slow moving drama with the reality of life. There is zero romance but it is full of real life situations that people face daily. The struggles of being an employee, mother, single person etc. I really enjoyed this show as every character is very relatable. 

Best parts of the drama

I was quite surprised at the number of food featured in this drama! If you didn't know it could have been a mukjang drama even! I specially love Miss Lee's egg roll! It looks so yummy, wish I could try it! :D 

Philip Oh's red sports car... Yes, you know me! ;D I think it's actually the same car featured in Terius but this time in red... 

May, Cheongil's mascot dog... Haha! Well, if May could talk... the stories she would tell! Everyone sits and talks to May whenever they have problems... I love the part where the K-pop crazy lady put a printed jacket on May bearing her idol's face! Hahah!! 

Cheongil Electronics's vacuum cleaner... Seriously, that vacuum looks so good! I would buy one! 

Some of the life lessons and encouraging words to lift up your spirit to keep on fighting... 

Conclusion

Cheongil seem to be at a lost even after all the brave and tireless efforts of everyone. They were already at their ends and have decided even if it went bankrupt at least they have done their best. The turning point came when one of the senior managers at TM decided to be a whistle blower. The prosecutors investigated and found that TM had indeed abused their power over their sub-contractors. 

It's a happy ending for everyone, the bad guys went to jail and each character had their respective happy endings too. Relationships restored, family reunited, new love and joy for their company Cheongil Electronics. 

I liked this ending part where Mr Yoo comes back to work and he thought the girl was Miss Lee at first, but it turns out to be a new clerk. Miss Lee has now become the real president of Cheongil Electronics that everyone respects. Really nice... 

This is a nice drama of a slice of life as quoting one comment read online. It is not your usual lovey dovey romance k-dramas, which I really enjoyed. It was a tad bit boring at some point, but it also brought much tears (no, there were just onions around! ;D) However, realistically a company like Cheongil would go bankrupt as we all know real life is not like a k-drama with happy endings all the time. 

Alright, I guess I did a double review today! :D Haha! Just felt like it. It's been way overdue. I'll leave you with Miss Lee and Cheongil Electronics! Stay safe everyone. 

The Perfect Match (Taiwan)

Drama name: The Perfect Match
Country: Taiwan 
Year: Mar - Aug 2017 

Oh wow, it's really been so long since I last updated... My apologies, have been not much in the mood to watch anything current... plus daily life stress... Hope everyone is doing well and healthy. This drama came out in 2017, almost 3 years ago... I started Episode 1 but then left it on hold all these while... haha! Decided to pick it up again and it was quite nice! 

So, what's this drama about?

Hou Tingen is a Cordon Bleu trained top chef who is in charge of La Mure, one of the finest restaurants around. He is famous for lobster curry and one day he stumbles across an internet article which boasts a street food version of his signature dish at incredibly affordable price. He sets out to the night market to check out if the claims were true. 

Tingen meets Wei Fenqing, the street food vendor who claimed that her lobster curry sandwiches were just as good as the top chef's dish. He challenged her on the spot and prepared his curry sandwich using Fenqing's ingredients for the local folk to sample. Everyone there was blown away by his food. Fenqing's ego was hurt, she went to Tingen's restaurant the very next day to taste his lobster curry. 

She challenges Tingen to a battle, that within 7 days she can make the lobster curry just as good as his, provided that he would teach her how to cook it. Haha, I know right... the story line is already kinda ridiculous right from the start... But yeah, that's how it goes... 

The drama continues with Tingen teaching Fenqing how to cook his signature dish and how their relationship developed within the 7 days with family history secrets coming out and eventually threatening their love for each other. 

Overall thoughts

It is a light hearted rom-com, with not many really bad villians... The leads had good chemistry and the supporting cast were good, thus creating an enjoyable watch with the warm friendships from the night market crew. This drama is a bit cliche with the chaebol and poor girl kind of theme (if you are familiar with Korean dramas you'll know what I mean!) However, if you have watched Pasta or Wok of Love, this drama is definitely better than those two combined! 

Best parts of the drama

As with any food dramas, your eyes will have a food feast with all the fine dining dishes and also some Taiwanese street food! The show also starts off with some curry history which is kinda nice to know... 

Huo Tingen's apartment is really nice, please excuse the shirtless screenshots... :D 

As I have mentioned, the leads have good chemistry together. You'll have the full usual romance scenes, from scooter ride to rain and umbrellas.. princess dancing and eventually the kiss... ah, for such which girls would be super happy to get in a rom-com! :D

Tingen's food truck! It's a refurbished VW van... 

Notable scenes

Okay, this is what everyone is waiting for... yup, the super steamy first kiss! Man, Chris Wu can really kiss... you won't be disappointed! XD

Special mention

I had to mention this character from the drama, Xiaobin. He is Tingen's best friend and also right hand man. Haha, he's super funny, loyal and the bromance between them brings the comedy in... 

Conclusion

Okay, this is the part where the drama became kinda draggy... I read the comments and reviews online, and I do agree with them. As usual, there will be some kind of conflict between the leads and makes them separate for awhile. It turns out that Tingen's step dad and Fenqing's dad were supposed to be business partners back then. Fenqing's dad had the recipe for the curry, which Tingen's step dad stole after the guy got into a scooter accident on the roadside. 

With that stolen recipe, Tingen's step dad managed to build the empire which is what Tingen and his step brother are running at the moment. The leads separated because Fenqing's mum did not allow her daughter to marry the step son of the man who might have caused the death of her husband (Fenqing's dad) 

So with all drama ridiculousness, Fenqing inherits the empire and runs it like a boss. Sometimes, I wonder what script writers aim to build in people's minds... haha, I mean just imagine, she's just a street food vendor and then within 7 days or maybe a couple of months after and she can become the top chef of a Cordon bleu standard. It's just a bit stretched to me. 

But yeah, that's how the story is, Fenqing and Tingen's roles were reversed... Tingen became a food truck vendor serving food to make people happy, but he himself was not happy... the irony... 

It's a happy ending, don't fret just yet! The second lead decides to help them and brings them back together with a lawsuit. Yes, kinda like how they started.... Fenqing's group is suing Tingen for making a cheap version of their coronation chicken (a recipe which both Tingen and Fenqing developed together) So yeah, it was an awkward moment with the lawyer and everyone present. 

The leads get back together after that when mainly Tingen confessed his everything to her at the lawyers meeting. It was quite cheesy. Anyways, the drama ends with both parties running to each other (yes, true drama style) and kissing. The end. 

It's an okay drama, for those who love rom-com this would a nice one to watch if you have time to waste. I wouldn't recommend this much. It does depend on your mood, if you want a light hearted drama with romance and not too much heartache this would be okay. 

Alright then, hope you are staying safe and at home, with the covid-19 at large. See you in days to come. I'll leave you guys with Tingen and Fenqing... 

Big Issue Review

Drama name: Big Issue
Country: South Korea
Year: Mar- May 2019

It's been awhile since I last wrote a drama review, a lot of things happened in my life... :( I am currently having a drama hiatus as some would say... However, I did manage to watch one 2019 drama so far as it was airing 24 hours from South Korea. I stumbled across this drama on my local cable TV, it was already on Ep.4... It was intense and caught my attention so I back-tracked it online. 

So, what's this drama about?

Han Seok Joo is a senior photojournalist for a top newspaper, Nara News. He is a married man with a daughter who has some heart problems. He needed money for her surgery so he worked hard at his job. One day, he thought he had a big scoop when he managed to photograph a renowned doctor drug raping an actress. He wanted to expose the scandal in hopes to secure himself a better position and pay in the company. 

Alas, those photographs became the nightmare of his life. Instead of exposing the doctor, Han Seok Joo became the "bad guy" with no ethics of being a photographer taking private photos. Matters became worse when the doctor ended up dead by suicide. The actress came out with a press conference saying that she and the doctor were secret lovers. 

Han Seok Joo lost his job, his family and was even thrown in jail. Basically he fell down to rock bottom... He ended up being a hobo living on the streets many years later. 

Meanwhile, Ji Soo Hyun was a rookie reporter for a really small online news company. She was looked down upon other journalists and news agencies. Her main job was to just get advertisers to place ads so that the company wouldn't go under. 

One day, her big break came. It was the very same doctor that Han Seok Joo photographed contacted her. He handed her a tablet filled with his patients information in exchange for access to the actress. It worked, the actress came out with the fake confession of being lovers with him. Unfortunately, that didn't save his life. The irony. 

Armed with the tablet, Ji Soo Hyun's life transformed from rock bottom to the top of the news agencies scene. She became the chief editor of Sunday Syndicate, a top paparazzi agency with high salary and powerful connections. 

As fate happens, Ji Soo Hyun crosses path with Han Seok Joo one day. Her photographer got into an accident and couldn't execute the task. She recognised Seok Joo despite his hobo appearance and asked a favour from him. He managed to take the photos she needed and got paid. 

Instead of being a one-off job, Soo Hyun decided to keep him. She hired him as a paparazzo for Sunday Syndicate. She even used Seok Joo's daughter as the trump card saying that she could help him get the heart transplant for her. 

The story goes on with Seok Joo working for Soo Hyun unravelling cases after cases with his photography skills. He will eventually discover the truth behind the original case of the doctor and actress. 

Overall thoughts

The first few episodes were quite action packed, somewhat reminiscent of Mission Impossible... Haha, and the cinematography was interesting as well. I found that this drama also seem to have an underlying message that somehow coincidentally coincides with the 10 year anniversary death of a South Korean actress. I don't know if the writer was trying to bring up the issue through a drama or not. Strangely enough, this drama was airing at the same time the Burning sun scandal happened in South Korea. Too many coincidences I think! :D

If you are not familiar with both of the scandals, basically it is about how some entertainment agencies use their talents, i.e. young female actresses or kpop singers to "entertain" rich and powerful men against their will. One of the end result was the actress committing suicide. At least officially it is suicide. There are some who say she was murdered but nobody knows the truth really. 

Best parts of the drama

Back to the drama! Well, like I have mentioned the cinematography is pretty neat. They had many nice buildings with cool architecture in the show. The Sunday Syndicate building itself: 

The camera equipment room is awesome with those motorised doors...even his camera bag is cool too... XD

Ji Soo Hyun's house by the lake... really nice... 

Han Seok Joo's house, which is supposedly Sunday Syndicate's accommodation for the chief photographer... 

Cars! Of course, how could I not mention some... ;D This taxi... really now you must be saying... what?! Well, it's really cool... it is modified with the bottom red light too... You should see the driving skills of the guy! 

The Sunday Syndicate's main news team... This scene where they all drive up with their flashy cars and all... 

Notable scenes:

The highlight of many kdrama fans would be this intense kissing scene... Hahaha... Seriously, I was laughing man, but it was indeed refreshing from the usual cliche kdrama kind of kisses... I like this one. They just got down to it. Bam, one night stand. XD

For comedic scene, this part where the prosecutors meet the local gangsters on Sunday Syndicate's building... too funny.. they remind me of Hong Kong dramas where the gangs fight and all... 

Conclusion

As with most kdramas, the last few episodes just seem to be in a hurry, trying to tie up all the loose ends with some logic left behind. Overnight, Han Seok Joo became the CEO of Sunday Syndicate and with his new found power he went back for his old enemies. Those people from Nara News who brought down his life... It feels good to get revenge... Well, in real life this is the truth.... only those with money and power people will bow down and be nice to them... 

Han Seok Joo finds out the mastermind of everything is the CEO of Nara News... (pretty cliche here) and tries to bring him down... only to be used as a pawn. Yeah, if not for Soo Hyun, he would prolly be a hobo again... smh. I'm serious.. behind every successful man is woman... haha! 

The Nara News CEO has all the photos of powerful people and used that to his advantage. This part is where I was quite disappointed... it seemed that it had to be a more powerful person behind everything... but I guess the writers got scared or maybe threatened so the script was changed... 

It's a happy ending, Soo Hyun manages to outwit the bad guy and got him arrested... with the help of the Sunday Syndicate team. The story ends with Seok Joo finally being called "Appa" by his daughter and he continuing Sunday Syndicate business with Soo Hyun. 

I read up some reviews of this drama, I also agree with some comments that there wasn't actually any explanation between Seok Joo and Soo Hyun. After all, she was part of the reason his life went to rock bottom and he found out about it... But I guess he forgave her because he fell in love with her hahahaa... and she also tried to help him fix his life again. 

It's an alright drama. It touched on the darker side of the entertainment industry with the paparazzi and news portals. However, it paled when it came down to the end... perhaps it was really too sensitive to be aired or it could have cost someone their lives... :O The rating for this drama in South Korea was not good I think, I saw it written on some comments. It came out at the wrong time I guess, because of the Burning sun issue many were outraged and the last thing anyone wants is another drama to talk about it. Just my thoughts. 

Hope to see you around soon. What dramas are you watching right now? Let me know. Thanks for reading! 

*Image credits: Google and screenshots*