Sikeurit Gadeun

Every time I watch a show from Korea, I am never disappointed. This one is no different. An emotional roller coaster show with fantastic characters, beautiful cinematography and amazing soundtrack. You will fall in love with the show and its characters. The script is well written and the actors and actresses have such chemistry.

You will find yourself laughing, crying, smiling and being angry right along with them.

A word of caution though. You will find yourself wanting to start the next episode once you reach the end of the one you are watching because it is that good and addicting. I was sad that I got to the last episode and it ended. So, I started watching from the first episode again. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

I really didn't think I would like this drama. I watched Boys Over Flowers and ended up really disliking the whole series because I couldn't get over how unlikeable some of the characters were. When I started Secret Garden, I thought "Oh great another story about a bratty rich guy who traumatizes his girlfriend into liking him... I bet the female lead looks like she's strong and then becomes a blubbering wimp or insensitive ice queen." I could have not been MORE WRONG. OK some may watch episode one and say...well sure looks like it to me! ...but it's not. This is how BoF should have tackled the rich boy/poor girl love story.

OK to be fair I was not a big Joo Won fan for most of the series (His character alone made me question the series as a whole). Surprisingly the one who enchanted me was Gil Ra Im, and the adorable Oska! <3 I stuck with the series because it was refreshing to see the leading lady bite back when Joo Won was being a jerk. When he hurt her she would tell him, and she never gave in to his sharp remarks, and eventually Joo Won realized the power of his own words and slowly opened himself to loving her. When you fall in love and root for a character you once disliked, that's the power of great story telling. What is more amazing about this drama, even though it followed some typical Kdrama conventions it did so in a way that you were surprised and shocked that they worked in some big revelations. It brought out the true meaning of 'destiny' and it made the series as a whole more heartfelt and touching.

The switching bodies theme...I thought "eeeeeeh this will be needless and over the top" but it was really well done! At first it took some getting used to, but it actually made for some of the more touching moments in the story, and the funniest. Joo Won swooning over Oska made me laugh to tears. Lastly, I find one of the biggest faults with many dramas is the story always feels like it tapered off without thought at the very end. I loved that Secret Garden tied up all the loose ends in the most touching of ways. It felt complete to me, and it made me feel like the love experienced in the stories was true and sincere.

Overall, those of you who watch the first couple of episodes and are not impressed, I say stick with it! You'll be glad you did. All the characters are wonderful to watch and develop into three-dimensional people that you'll root for and cheer on! It's a fantastic love story that makes you want to find your soulmate. :D

It was the right cheek dimple on Joo Won that got me hooked. The storyline is good, the expensive tracksuit fashion was bad by anyone's standard, but i guess that's the comedy of it :) The plot is a good one and the tale of two rich guys fall for and fight over a poor girl story is what it is and nothing more. I dislike how these stories have a "boy is abusive to girl until she likes him" tone (and there are some questionable stalking and physical scenes that could put you on the trail to jail in Australia), but it overcame them surprisingly well and the right cheek dimple undid quite a bit of my unease.

I liked it overall, and it's worth watching.

I'm from the UK so didn't get to see this on Netflix until last year but having enjoyed watching I've just watched again. Love the action and humour between the characters and also the opportunity of viewing Korean culture and scenery. The only criticism I have now watching it the second time around is for me, a bit of chemistry lacking between male and female leads, otherwise, very well acted

Secret Garden is delightful with two of Korea's best actors and two of the best writers and directors. It hits all major points in KDrama romance and fantasy but also carries a strong theme about the power of unconditional love. My only quibble is the evil mother figure that becomes a staple in Korean drama. Really tired of it. But everything else I love and have watched the series over through the years-which I never do with American series. Nine years later, I still don't think Hyun Bin has matched that performance. Strongly recommended. [Correction: in 2020, he matches it in "Crash Landing"]