Horas de Princesa

I have heard a lot about this drama. Hence, I wanted to watch this one. Considering the fact that it's a really old drmaa. I have rated this. If you want to watch a Cinderella story. It's for you. The only difference is there is love square for you here. The prince is in love with his x and the princess is loved by the cousin in law. Flaws of this drama is that it drags a lot. Very slow. Thankfully, I was bored. So I just fast forwarded the scenes and could bear though it. Unlike others, I didn't like the traditional costumes. And the traditional names were a pain. I didn't like the palace as well. But despite it all the drama was able to engross me in. That's why I gave it 8 stars. For a few hours I was able to go into a princess story and for some reason I didn't put it down. There was no real villian in this story. Everyone was just trying to get what they want to overcome their pain. I would say if you have a lot of time to waste and want to watch a fairytale go for this. On a personal note. I preferred Yu Gul over the male lead. I felt he was more genuine and did everything he could for her. I have no hatred for the male lead though. After some time you get used to him. So yeah. It's not for everyone. Particularly after such a long time. But if you have time to kill and want a fairytale to look forward to this one is for you.

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.

It was a really hard sell when a core part of the plot was the male lead treating the female lead like a piece of crap, combined with the "oh no he doesn't know how to express his feelings", these tropes are better left in fanfiction. The case was even worse due to the absolute lack of any chemistry between any of the four leads, this was the definition of negative rizz. It got even worse, all of the three leading cast Ju Ji Hoon & Song Ji Hyo & Kim Jeong Hoon brought an utterly abysmal joke of a performance, admittedly, this was their first main role and was totally incomparable with their current performance, all of them went to do much better and bigger things, it's better to forget they worked on this drama. On the other hand, Yoon Eun Hye was pulling the entire thing together, solo carrying whatever left to be salvaged. Her dynamic with her friends and family was quite good, but not with any of the leads. The puppets at the end of each episode were a nice touch, it would have been nicer if they incorporated that in the drama itself. The earlier parts of the drama were generally better, the events in the palace were a bit boring. To build up for the climax, the last 4 episodes created the last point of tension however it was seriously atrocious writing, one of the worst conflicts I've seen a writer come up with. It was just pure bad writing from that point until the last frame of the drama. If they slapped in some random terminal illness nuances it would've been a better serviceable finale. If anything, I'm only remembering this drama for its awful last few episodes. At least it was much better than Boys Over Flowers (2009).

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.