Archive for July, 2011

34 episodes
Starring: Eugene as Yuh Bong Soon, Lee Min Ki as Nam Bong Ki and Ryu Jin as Jang Joon Won
Aired: April-August 2006

Yeo Bong Soon (Eugene) finds an injured man and nurses him back to health at her mountain home with her grandmother. Little does she know the man, Jang Joon Won, is the President’s son. She also meets the rude and arrogant Presidential bodyguard (something like the US’s Secret Service) Nam Bong Ki, who was sent to retrieve Joon Won (though he’s not told of Joon Won’s real identity).

The lives of these three become entwined after this incident. Later, Bong Soon leaves for  Seoul to look for her parents and bumps into Bong Ki and Joon Won, who is a doctor.  She finds a job as an assistant cook at the President’s Blue House canteen and because of Joon Won’s secret identity a comedy of errors (and can we say love triangle) ensues.

What I love: Lee Min Ki is sure adorable as Nam Bong Ki. Poor Bong Ki is considered no choice at all by Bong Soon, who has a massive, massive crush on Joon Won. Though, one can’t blame the girl – Joon Won is nice, kind, compassionate, sexy and gorgeous, and a doctor  - lethal combinations in any reality.

Bong Ki, on the other hand, knows only to communicate his feelings by teasing and being rude to Bong Soon, so it’s no wonder the girl doesn’t think romantic thoughts when it comes to him.

I really enjoyed the three main characters’ growth and interaction (for the most part): Bong Ki’s growth as a person, Joon Won opening up and finally letting go of a terrible burden, and Bong Soon’s growth from a naive hillybilly to a confident and competent chef. Their interaction with with Bong Ki’s father and his boss, who is a tenant at his house, is also fun to watch. It’s also rather educational to see how life is like in the Blue House from the perspective of the staff there.

What I don’t like: This is going to be a list, so brace yourself: 

• This drama should have been 20 episodes, not 34. There are unnecessary side plots involving pesky side characters that I’m just not interested in, so I fast forwarded through most of them. 
• If the side characters were interesting, it would have been worth paying attention to, but they were downright annoying. There’s one involving the nutritionist who is a gold digger (Cannot. Stand. Her), and another involving an overweight cook. I hate, and I repeat, hate it when overweight women are used or rather, debased, to make you laugh. She’s a caricature, a person most people think do not deserve a looker just because she’s above acceptable weight standards, so they go make fun of her pursuit of this hot Presidential bodyguard, who of course, looks at her like some kind of gnat. Hatez this side plot with the passion of a thousand supernovas.
• Bong Soon was really likable in the beggining. She had joy de vivre, she was optimistic and bold … then the whole Joon Won infatuation kicked in and she became this mopey love-sick puppy for, oh, 3/4 of the series. She was so into Joon Woon that she did not even see how Bong Ki was lifting her spirits up at every downward spiral (and she sure had a lot of them). Yup, she’s that kinda self-absorbed heroine – dense about who she loves until something really drastic happens and she realises oh-so-suddenly that she really loves said person. By episode 30 I wanted to throttle her and demand that she take her eyes off her navel.

Watch-o-meter: Looking at the list, you’re probably thinking: Oh man, I’m so not going to sacrifice 34 hours of my life to this. To this I say a) there’s the fast forward button and b) it’s really worth some of your time – at least, the bits involving Bong Ki, Joon Won and Bong Soon. The payoff comes in episode 33 – though I’d say it is almost too late! – when finally Bong Soon breaks her self-absorbed streak and realises who she really loves. (Like, it’s not going to be a surprise who.) It’s probably my favourite episode because it’s gratifying to finally see realisation come into her eyes. Still, having just one episode left for the One True Pair to come together is way too rushed.

So, worth your time? It all hinges on Bong Ki’s charm – if you dig it, you’re bound to stay for the long haul.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5