Kdrama - Iljimae (2008)

Synopsis - DAddicts
Photos - DAddicts & Sevenses

Set during the Joseon Dynasty, Yong acted as a hooligan in the marketplace by day but at night he was a thief who robbed corrupted government officials to give to the poor. After each robbery he left behind a painting depicting a plum tree branch to make his mark and was thus named Iljimae. His main purpose was not so much to rob but to search for the owner of a specially designed sword which he saw as a child was used to kill his father, a loyal subject of the emperor. Eun Chae is a government official's daughter who despite her upbringing has a lot of empathy towards the poor. She met Iljimae by chance and couldn't help admiring him for what he stood for even though she had never seen his face.

Since I am a Lee Jun Ki fan, I've been waiting for this drama to be released. Besides that reason, the synopsis is very interesting. The trailers to the drama had martial arts. This looks like a case of a Korean Robin Hood on the lose!

Lee Jun Ki is one of the Korean actors who I will watch almost anything in. Honestly, when I first saw him in My Girl, I was not impress with his looks. With his femine looks, I was turned off. However, his character and acting made up for that. Then when I saw him in Time Between Dog and Wolf, I was so in love with him. He's just toooooo adorable!!! Just like in Time Between Dog and Wolf, he was just as charming. I was very excited to see Lee Jun Ki as Iljimae. Lee Jun Ki's character goes through different name changes throughout the drama. Not only is he the masked Iljimae, he grew up with the name, Kyum , and later is known as Yong.

I've never seen anything with Park Shi Ho so I was curious to see him. I find him good looking and having a nice body. His character is very intense, which makes me fall for him. He goes through so much and gets confused with who he is. Ironically, his character's name is Shi Ho, just like his real name. Growing up as a beggar then realizing he has noble bloodline, never once did he have it easy.

Han Hyo Joo plays the beautiful Eun Chan. With such a kind heart, who wouldn't fall in love with her? Even though she is born into a rich noble family, she never lets that overshadow who she is. Since childhood, she has loved Kyum and believes he is dead. Her half "brother" Shi Hoo secretly is in love with her. She does show sympathy towards him since he was raised as a beggar. Fasinated by Iljimae, she starts to fall for him.

Lee Young Ah plays Bong Soon. As a child, she has been traumatize with everyone in her family being killed. By chance, she meets Hyum twice when they were younger. However, they got separated. When meeting each other again 13 years later, Hyum is now Yong. Yong and Bong Soon have a love/hate relationship. The cute, sassy, loud-mouth Bong Soon is witty and manipulative. Later she learns who Yong is and falls for him.

Watching the first episode and 15 minutes into it, I saw Iljimae and then him unmasking himself and Lee Jun Ki! Yah, I was so excited. Then there are flashbacks of his character as a child. So now I will get to see how he became Iljimae.

Towards the end of the second episode, you get to see Lee Jun Ki again. I waited and waited and waited....when is he going to be Iljimae? When is it going to happen?

Disappointing....I have no problem with the script introducing his life before he decided to be Iljimae. My problem is how long it took to show him as Iljimae.


Come on, this drama has 20 episodes!! You wait until halfway to finally show this? There were so many lose and unnecessary pot holes in the story. To make it worse, the dvds I have had awful, very awful English subs! My kids and I were watching them and they were so confuse with what was going on!!!

Honestly, I am tired of the "sibling" love. Creepy to me. Half siblings having feelings for each other. Even if they're not related, they've grown up in the same household and/or same parents and having those feelings. I think I'm going to pass on Kdramas for now. Still love Kmovies though. In conclusion, yes, Iljimae is very disappointing. Sad cause it looked promising but didn't follow through.

Kdrama - Time Between Dog and Wolf (2007)

Synopsis - DramaWiki
Photos - Soompi

Lee Soo Hyun is adopted into Kang Min Ki's family because his parent's were murdered by gang memebers. They both grew up to become NIS agents, brothers, and best friends. Suh Ji Woo and Soo Hyun, who knew each other from childhood, are accidentally reunited when the beautiful Ji Woo caught the attention of playboy Kang Min Ki. She and Soo Hyun are separated once again because of Soo Hyun's vengeance against his parent's enemies.

When I first heard about this drama, I was very excited because (1) Lee Jun Ki is so adorable and good looking in this drama, (2) it's an action drama (sappy love stories bore me), (3) some shots were filmed in Thailand (did I tell you that I love that? I was born there!).

I love Lee Jun Ki's character in My Girl but wasn't happy about his metrosexual looks. Thank goodness he cut his hair off! He's looking sooo adorable. I'm excited to watch more dramas and films of him now. His character Soo Hyun wants revenge which he played it very well. When he cried, I cried. I mentioned about his martial arts skills and he shows it off even more in Time Between Dog and Wolf. When he kicks, I love how flexible his legs stretch and kicks.

Nam Sang Mi is a pleasure to watch. I want to see more films/dramas with her. I actually went to look her up. I couldn't believe she was in She's On Duty, Spy Girl, and Too Beautiful to Lie. She's one actress who looks different and plays totally different roles! Love her for that. What I also love about her is she isn't super skinny like most Korean actresses are. She is slim with muscle tone. So far, she is the best dress Korean actress on screen that I've seen. Maybe because her character Ji Woo is rich.

Jung Kyung Ho is good at his role. I first saw him in Gangster High. His character Min Gi loves Jin Woo too. Why does there always have to be some kind of love triangle. And on top of that, with siblings? Oh well. Gotta to create some drama, right? It kind of bothered me that he kept pursuing Ji Woo with him being a flirt which was shown at the beginnig of the drama but once he realize that Ji Woo didn't care for him and was more interested in her childhood friend, he wanted her more.

Time Between Dog and a Wolf is a must see. The first episode keeps you on the edge of your seat and you have to watch the rest! It's not your typical Korean drama. Most dramas aren't action packed. Like all dramas, there will be some parts that drag. Lee Jun Ki - you won my heart. Nam Sang Mi - you're close enough to becoming parts that drag but what do you expect with watching 16 episodes? I do have to complain about the ending because I wanted it to end differently. Definitely worth a one of my faves!

Kdrama - My Girl (2005)

Synopsis - Drama
WikiPhotos - Hancinema

When Gong-chan (Lee Dong Wook) meets the lively and beautiful Yu-rin (Lee Da Hae), he finds out that she has connections to his missing cousin, who his grandfather has been searching for a long time. He asks Yu-rin to lie about being his long missing cousin until he can find his real cousin. She says yes, but soon their feelings for each other get in the way of their plans. Gong-chan's friend Jung-woo (Lee Jun Ki) falls for Yu-rin while Gong-chan's ex girlfriend, Seo-hyun (Park Si Yeon), a pro tennis player, tries to win him back. Will the two ever tell each other how they feel? Will Gong-chan ever find his real cousin?

My Girl is another Kdrama that I absolutely adore! My Girl has been getting rave reviews in Korea. First of all, it has my hottie Lee Dong Wook. Yah! I get to see him again. I love him even more because of his character Gong Chan. What I love about Wookie is seeing him from Arang to My Girl was a total transformation in his characters. He can act! Plus he looks good with or with out stubs, long or short hair. I find him sexier with rugged with stubs. Gong Chan was a bit metro sexual but overall, I love how sweet, humble, and kind he was. Love how he took care of Yu Rin.

Lee Da Hae is cute. However, I hated her tacky clothes in the movie. She's a very skinny girl and wearing tight pants/jeans didn't do justice to her. Plus the two ponytails made her character more silly. Yu Rin was annoying at first but started to become likeable. For example, in the beginning because what motivated her was money. She was doing stupid stuff like staying in the guest house and picking up the fruits to sell them as her own.

When I first saw Lee Jun Ki on screen, I was like "Oh my goodness, he looks like a girl!" I love his martial arts move which impress me. The long hair still got to go!! Thank goodness I saw him in A Time With Dog and Wolf later. Whew! Despite his girlish look, I still found Jung Woo so adorable. I love how he cared for Yu Rin so much that he was willing to let her go to Gon Chan because he knew they both loved each other inside.

Park Si Yeon was a bit annoying in the movie but I can see why. She wanted her man back! Her fault for choosing the love of tennis over the fine Gong Chan! For some reason, she has a bitchy look to her. Hate her smile.

The storyline was not the best but I love the flow of the movie. Ending could've been better but overall, a must watch. If anything watch it for Lee Dong Wook. Hottie!!! Definitely worth your time.