The King 2 Hearts

One of the best dramas....a love story overcoming borders....wish this is true beyond fiction....

In a South Korea with a monarchy the spoilt prince becomes enamoured with a North Korean special forces soldier. An interesting mix of romance and politics over the 20 episodes with lots of murder and intrigue. A megalomaniac boss of a large conglomerate will stop at nothing to destroy the royal family and because of his wealth he influences countries making him difficult to oppose. It stars the adorable Ha Ji-won although in this series she does have an annoying intonation to her voice, the rest of the cast give a Stirling performance although this does not apply to the stilted actors playing foreigners.

The badass woman protagonist stays fierce and strong even while exploring her vulnerable side to love and relationships. Her military and physical strength don't just disappear, and she is the one who saves him from physical dangers (a nice reversal of the damsel/ Princess in distress).

As many have noted the antagonist can be weird and over-the-top and the foreign actors can. not. act.

But, the Korean characters genuinely develop throughout the series and the tragedies had me crying. The love between romance characters and new family members feel genuine because of their growth.

What an exceptional drama and an ingenious screenplay!

What a scream against war!

What a crying loud voice for peace and love!

It's one of the best kdrama I've seen, and I've seen a lot so far!

Lee Seung Gi and Ha Ji Won were so excellent, so great, each one of them performing in two types of attitude! Such a superb acting from both of them!

Lee Seung Gi, you are the King of our Hearts! I love you!

It's a series that takes your breath away. You won't have a chance to get bored, not for a single moment. You might watch the whole series in one shot!

Due to its message, supported by great acting, I consider this series as one of the most precious gems of kdrama.

Don't miss it! :)

This 2012 series is better than King Eternal Monarch but that isn't saying that much. Fans of CLOY may want to check this one out because there is a North South thing. It's cruder since it's from 2012 but you can find some humour about the differences. Politics is one of the main themes with digs at foreign powers. It can get tedious at times. The start is the better part of the series with some exciting parts and good action here and there. Quite a stellar cast with Oscar winning actress YYJ playing the queen mom. The leads Lee Seung Gi and Ha Ji Won have chemistry because they both have more tanned complexions and South East Asian features. HJW is believable in her action scenes. Interesting secondary romance between the soldier and the princess. The villain is comical as his is bunch of international bad people.

The fault is the drag during the WOC games and the kidnapping and politics. This show should have been the standard 16 episodes. Then the boring parts could have been edited out. There is more English and other languages spoken to give it an international political drama feel.