Master's Sun

This is a fun k-drama penned by the Hong Sisters. For those who aren't familiar with their work, they're a pair of Korean television screen writers known for their quirky romantic comedies/adventure dramas. While yes many Korean Drama tropes appear in their work, the two seem to relish playing with conventions, and have fun with tropes rather than relying on them.

This is basically a Korean re-imagining of The 6th sense. Much like their wonderful re-imagining of the American film Overboard (entitled Fantasy Couple/or sometimes Couple or Trouble) - they take the basic premise and change everything making something nicely familiar but wholly new and surprising. This is no exception.

It's fun, sweet, and often extremely funny. In addition to the smart writing, the direction is top notch and the amazing cast constantly deliver. Highly recommend this one - and if ya like it, look up the Hong Sisters and seek out their work, all of it is great (except for their one misstep, the painfully bad remake of Big)

A successful but ruthless businessman meets a girl who can see ghosts but they disappear in his presence. She latches onto him and as she gets peace in his company but over time will his indifferent feelings towards her change ? The series could have benefitted from being a little shorter but stars Hyo-Jin Kong who I love in any role and therefore I can forgive the length. Excellent acting from all the cast with some funny and endearing moments means this series is well worth a watch.

As a fan of Kong Hyo Jin, but a big scary cat who hates horror, I was fifty fifty whether to watch it or not. But, turned out that the horror stuff weren't difficult to handle. They were scary, sure, and well made and presented, with nice SGI, but they were brief as well and the story tended to leave them behind and move on with the main story. So, the plot was good, though I found it a bit slow. The love triangle was nice as well, but ended quickly and the drama focused on the main couple, who were really cute together. The small ghost cases, moreover, were interesting and saved the otherwise weak plot. The performances were good as well. Finally, the side stories were a bit annoying, and the final twist was predictable. So, 6.5 out of 10.

I've had a hard time getting into Korean TV dramas, mostly due to the sappy romanticism and general melodrama. Master's Sun was the first member of the genre that I've actually liked, as it brings both a fun supernatural angle and a lot of humour to the proceedings.

Central to the series's appeal is Hyo-Jin Kong as the heroine, Tae Gong Sil. Not only is Gong-Sil endearing in her weirdness, but she actually has a pretty impressive character arc over the course of the series, going from an outcast who can barely handle everyday life to a confident woman that can stand on her own. While her relationship to a rich CEO is a part of this growth, the series also acknowledges her need for independence, which is nice considering that the romance genre (on both sides of the Pacific) generally encourages a very unhealthy codependence. The other characters are all endearing in their own way, especially the ghosts, who are both visually striking and straddle the difficult line between scary and funny.

Master's Sun is still very much of its genre, containing within it evil twins, amnesia, tragic misunderstandings, questionable gender politics, kisses shot from five different angles, and the same K-Pop songs in every episode. At 64 minutes a pop, the episodes drag on too long for what is ultimately a fairly lightweight narrative. But even the soapier elements are executed better than one would have any right to expect. Even with my limited knowledge of K-Dramas, I can say that this isn't the best one out there, but judging from my experience it just might be a good gateway drug.

She's a very accomplished actress and this series is enjoyable for the most part - just the obligatory K-drama daftness that gets a little irritating if it's done too often, e.g. long drawn out staring before a dramatic scene ends, half explanations - where a bit more info would avoid another unnecessary conflict etc. It's good fun though and well worth watching.