Me llamo Kim Sam Soon

How do you know if the series is doing well? For "My Lovely Samsoon", critics did not have to look far with the increase of inquiries on pastry-chefs, bakeries finding themselves running out of stock exponentially faster and even bookstores selling the German children's book "MOMO" caught off guard. When the locations of filming also because guided tour-sites, there was little left to wonder.

Such was the craze that swept South Korea and eventually many other Southeast Asian countries with the release of this koreanovella.

I was not a fan prior to watching "My lovely Samsoon". In fact, I was quite the skeptic. Knowing how Asia's film/series industry cater to unrealistic love stories I was actually getting ready to thrash this series to pieces.

Yet it was such a wonderful surprise as I finished the 16 episodes and now re-watching every single one for the umpteenth times! I don't want to bore you with big words and exaggerations.

Realistic dialogs, direct yet layered storytelling and cinematography, superb acting are only some of the delightful quirks and twists one will find this series.

I don't understand a word of Korean but it didn't matter.

Enjoy! ;-)

Although an oldie, my name is sam soon is a goodie.

The story is simple and you know where it is heading. Sure, there were some cliches, that, fortunately, didn't take over the drama, thus, the story was more upbeat and fresh.

The comedy part, however, was the main star of the drama. The two characters, although they didn't overflow chemistry as a couple, were great as the two opposites that kept colliding.

In addition, a big part of the main drama was good, as it was closer to a slice of life than the romantic comedy genre.

Finally, the performances were really good.

So, overall, seven out of ten.

I watched it again today. I last saw it way back 2009 when It was translated to tagalog. I loved the chemistry between the two and for some reasons my heart hurts and flutter when they have romantic scenes or they are fighting. This is one of the classic romantic comedy that should be in your list if you are only beginning to watch a Kdrama.

My Lovely Sam-soon is a 2005 kdrama rom-com whose lead is a brassy pastry chef named Kim Sam-soon played with gusto by Kim Sun-ah. Sam-soon starts the series being cheated on then dumped. Her public emotional reaction is watched by the spoiled cool President of Bon Appetit restaurant named Hyun Jin-heon, played by Hyun Bin. Sam-soon ends up involved with Hyun Jin-heon and their courtship ups and downs are the basis for this appealing show.

What I liked about the show a) Kim Sam-soon is a bit raw and willing to take risks for her career, family and love. She is the star of the show and the actress portrays Kim Sam-soon with appeal. Even when yelling, you see Kim Sam-soon cares through her passion. b) Hyun Jin-heon is one cool customer and the fact he is drawn Kim Sam-soon takes a while for him to accept. Once he is "all in" the relationship, he has his own quiet charm. c) Kim Sam-soon's mother and sister are embodied with similar zest and the ensemble family works. Hyun Jin-heon's devotion and respect (and some terror) for Kim Sam-soon's mother is wonderful to see. I want to karaoke with that family. d) Refreshingly the obstacles to their relationship didn't annoy me (unlike many kdramas). His mother, his ex-girlfriend, her ex-boyfriend, etc. were written so that they impeded but mattered to the evolution of their relationship. e) No subtitles needed when character Dr. Henry Kim was on screen (played by American born Korean actor Daniel Henney). I'd love to know how accurate the subtitles were for the English dialog. f) The first kiss scene sizzles and in a nutshell reflects the characters.

What I did not like about the show a) Fat? Kim Sam-soon is supposed to be fat in this series. She may be a couple of dress sizes larger than the other actresses, but she is in no way fat. The actress reportedly gained 15 pounds for the role. The references to size only heightened my awareness how thin all the other actors were. b) The "I hate my name" storyline never resonated with me.

Wonderful lead character, and a terrific performance from Kim Sun-Ah. At the same time, i find it a bit sad that she considers herself an old maid at 30. Although 1t made me laugh, every time she said it. The fact that she was considered fat is also to my mind ridiculous. I can see a reason for calling herself fat. I guess many women of even that size would consider themselves overweight. But it's the idea that others considered her fat is more troubling. Also on her age-30. Well, it seems she was 30 in real life, but I bet there are ordinary Korean women out there of that age who would love to look that good. So even though I liked the show, yo me it preached some bad messages. (1) being thirty and not married is tantamount to being an old maid (2) being a little overweight is the same as being fat.