Goong

I absolutely love this K-drama and I have watched it countless times. I just finished rewatching it, yet I already feel like watching it again. The actors and actresses have incredible chemistry, and their performances are truly unforgettable. Although it was released a long time ago, I still wish the main actors and actress could reunite in another drama. Their pairing is extraordinary, and I can't help but adore them both. Watching this again reminded me of the thrill and excitement of romance that recent K-dramas haven't quite captured. It might sound exaggerated, but I genuinely love them.

Imagine a pact being sealed between the late emperor and his commoner friend years ago, being materalised in the modern times.

Adapted from a best-selling comic in Korea and "Princess Hours" as its English translation of the title, it's about the adventures and mis-adventures of a commoner-turned-crown princess. Chae-kyung, a student who takes design at an arts school, has always got her friends around her. And despite her family situation, she takes things in her stride. But it all changed when the current Crown Prince of the royal family 19-year-old Lee Shin is attending the school, leaving the school all in a buzz of excitement.

But Chae-kyung don't let that get into her head till a public confrontation with the Crown Prince happened. At the same time, rumours went around that the Crown Prince has to find a wife in order to continue the royal line.

But Lee Shin longed had a girl he liked, but she rejected his proposal. Then it was know that many years ago, Chae-kyung's late grandfather who is a friend of the late emperor (who happened to be the late grandfather of Crown Prince Lee Shin), had made a pact that their future grandchildren will fall in love and be married. It became interesting because Chae-kyung is the only female in school who dared to go against Lee Shin.

The marriage did went ahead and it even invited worldwide media attention. This is where the former Crown Princess and one-time famous actress Hwa Young and her 19-year-old son Lee Yul come into the scene given they had been staying in the UK for 14 years. Hwa Young had asked her son to return home before she did, in order to stage a comeback into the royal family where she was banished from 14 years ago after the death of her husband. Unfortunately, her son slowly took a liking for his sister-in-law. To make it more complicated, the two of them are classmates.

Along the way, there are many obstacles for the royal family (domestic problems and beyond) and even in the form of Lee Shin's former girlfriend as well. A whole new can of worms had also been opened as well on the royal family's past along the way. But, can Chae-kyung save the day, given she has a happy-go-lucky personality especially in the eyes of the Queen Mother.

The clash of commoner life meets royalty can be quite a hit in the modern era, where royal life can still be seen as a novelty sometimes.

After I've watched Boys over flowers and completely hated it, I was thinking of not even picking up Princess' Hours. Especially since it was twenty four episodes long! But, this drama proved me wrong. It is one of the few times that I couldn't stop watching a drama. The story is catchy and the couple has extremely chemistry, which aids the drama tremendously. Now, there were some trops of that period that the drama followed, like the annoying parents (who were better than others though), the mean mother in law, the love triangle with the second lead being an angel and so making it difficult to not root for him. Plus, some twists were idiotic. But the execution was good and the pace really well managed. So, eight out of ten.

That sums up the problem with K-dramas. The producers said that it was hard to make a show based on a graphic novel that hadn't been finished yet. It doesn't seem that they struggled that hard with the challenge since The Palace is just a mindless regurgitation of K-drama clichés that should have been put out to pasture years ago. Here is the premise of this show - Boy loves girl, girl rejects boy so boy gets involved with another girl that he doesn't really like (the only bit of originality in any of these series is why the boy gets involved with the second girl). The first girl then decides that she made a mistake so she tries to get back with the boy. The boy finds himself pulled between his first love and the new girl (because she is cute and good natured). The cute girl leaves the country (to study abroad or for business) and the boy realizes how much he loves her. Sound familiar? It should, it is the exact same plot of every single romantic K-drama that has been released in the last decade (and maybe longer).

When The Palace started I thought it would be different. The costumes and sets are gorgeous and the directing riffs on anime style. But, within a few episodes, the lavish production can't hide the fact that there is nothing new here. Even worse, all the digital trickery of the first few episodes completely disappears.

Here is a breakdown of how a typical episode works. Character meets character and they talk. Next scene of characters sitting and talking. More characters talking while riding in a car. Characters talk while they eat. And finally, characters talk some more. Nothing is ever implied which can be stated. When characters are alone, they talk too. Throw in some tissue thin villains (a vengeful ex-crown princess and her "too pretty to be a boy" ex-prince) and much ado about a retroactive enthronment, and you have a series that would have been long at 12 episodes, but is torturous at 24.

The only person to come through this series looking good is Yoon Eun-Hye who is a Korean Audrey Hepburn. The rest of the cast, especially Kim Jeong-Hoon (boys should be handsome, NOT pretty) and Song Ji-hyo (washed out, mousy, and without an ounce of personality), will leave you reaching for the fast forward button.

And one more thing, if we are supposed to believe that a character spent their entire life in England, the least the producers could do is find an actor that can speak English. Listening to Kim Jeong-Hoon mangle English that he obviously doesn't understand is painful.

Skip this and watch My Name is Kim Sam-Soon. It is the same exact story, too. But at least all the actors are good in that one.

There are a lot of potential fans out there considering how many people obsess over the British Royal family -- and over how many young (and old) women dream about marrying into one. This TV series will have special resonance since it's about a gawky commoner who does exactly that.

At least that commoner is played by the delightful Yun Eun Hye who brings the character to life in an uninhibited way. Even when she's over-acting, she seems entirely natural. But if you want to see her at her best, check out the much better romantic comedy/drama COFFEE PRINCE (aka, 1ST SHOP OF COFFEE PRINCE).

This one flows along nicely enuf. Unlike American series which are intended to go on forever, this had a definite time limit, so it had a definite arc. Still, maybe the plot would have worked better at less than 24 episodes. But you may find an actor or character you like and latch on happily for the duration.

Unlike American series, this is bright and colorful (almost gaudy at times). There are better Korean shows out there for grownups -- unless you're a grownup obsessed with royalty -- then this may be your ideal show.