My Golden Life

This drama is about two families, one poor, the other rich and how they become entangled in each others lives. At 52, one hour episodes, its a long haul but you get to know each character better which is always a good thing.

The two lead actors Hye-Sun Shin (who plays the sister Seo Ji-an) and Shi-hoo Park (who plays the brother Choi Do-kyeong) really do play their parts to perfection. But for me its the support cast who really knock it out of the park, especially Eun-Su Seo (who plays the other sister Seo Ji-soo) and Ho-jin Chun (who plays the father Seo Tae-soo), they are so good, they will no doubt get more dramas to work on as leads.

At 52 episodes you can expect a few slight appearance changes to the cast but Lee Tae-Hwan (who plays Ji-soo's boyfriend Seon Woo-hyeok) has ginger hair for 43 episodes then suddenly goes black and nobody wonders why.

The story lines are twisty but always interesting and every episode has a juicy cliff-hanger, so you can't wait for the next episode to start.

For me its the two mothers and the final episode that stop this being a 9. The mothers are just not good actors, they occasionally look at the camera, which is a no-no. And the last episode is rushed, to tie all the loose ends together. They should have split it into two seasons and gave all the characters a proper ending.

Even with those two little flaws, its still a must watch, but keep the hankies close, you will definitely get through a box or two.

This is a remarkable series. It kept me glued for the whole of it's amazing 52 hour running time.

As so often, Shin Hye-sun is the most compelling reason to watch this. She invests all of her many emotional scenes with so much sincerity and truth that not once does she ring a false note. The same high praise cannot be extended to every one of her co-actors. However, some of those that appear to start weakly do become more compelling as the series progresses, perhaps because their character's challenges demand more of them as the plot thickens.

I am now faced with filling a "My Golden Life" sized hole in my viewing schedule! Only my faith in the strengths of K drama make me optimistic!

This is a long series of 52 episodes and has more then it's fair share of crazy plots and coincidences that are common in most K dramas. Having said that the acting from all the cast, storyline and direction hold your attention and the excellent pacing means you look forward to where the story is going. The main drama is about a hard done by contract worker from a poor family becoming embroiled with the son of a chaebol, but there are plenty of other sub plots with the other characters that will have cheering, booing or being sad.

This show has everything... laugh out loud moments, cringe moments, spit out your coffee moments and moments where you'll demolish a box of tissues. I have given it a 9/10, the only reason it misses a point is for the fact it's 52+ hours long, and some of the sets are very cheap and nasty (like the supposedly rich peoples' house where the wallpaper pattern is so mismatched you can't unsee it, and they strangely all drive Nissans).

The story really does show the divide between the mega rich and the struggling and just how awful and judgemental people can be without even realising it. It also shows unimaginable hardship and successes and truly is a joy to watch, even for the absurd bits.

If you have almost 2.5 days of your life to spare (when you put it altogether), watch this.

I'm surprised to see the relatively weak ratings of this series. The emotional intensity, the acting, the subtleties, the twists in the script etc. are absolutely brilliant. Yes it's not a 'quick fix' pleaser of the receptive senses, but that's exactly what makes it special. The casting is perfect, a stunning production in so many aspects.