The King 2 Hearts

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.

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

The first episodes of this drama are ok if you ignore the occasional nonsense. Then, half way through it, you have to put up with old fashioned script tricks to keep on watching... (It's a bad omen when you think about all the episodes still remaining ) The last part of the drama, you just keep the fast forward key pressed most of the time to avoid the embarrassment. In the end, I can only think: thank God Korea is a republic. That said, except for the "pseudo americans" and the female lead, the acting is pretty amazing.

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.

North Korea is a mysterious place to me. This drama unveils the life of north korean to me. The plot is creative to let birth to a king in south korea. The story is rich with mutiple storylines. Besides romance there are politics, thrillers, action. Female lead is my favourite action actress. The character of male lead is also menly. I like very much his reaction when knowing that his wife has miscarriage. So brave and musculine. His transition from a playboy to a decisive king is so natural and encouraging.

A cute and young female lead prompts me to see the drama again and again.