Bogoshipda

Watcherette succinctly summed up the tensions in this drama series. It asks you to suspend your disbelief (as with many other K drama series, such as the utterly funny "Rooftop Prince"), but you get sucked into the action so quickly and root for your favorite characters so much that you don't care about the weird coincidences and strange logic. This is actually the first K drama series I ever watched and I've been hooked since then. The fashion style, the music, the acting, the cultural customs, the locations, and the storylines are so peculiarly beautiful that watching it all is like a great diversion from everyday life.

This thoroughly convoluted, quite implausible, but beautifully developed storyline will keep you up at night. This show is addictive -- the acting is superb, the soundtrack is haunting, the occasional humor is hilarious, and the cultural backdrop is fascinating (I've never been to Korea and don't speak the language, so I'm like a hungry sponge, absorbing all that I see and hear and trying to make sense of it). As with other K-dramas I've watched, the psychological tensions between honoring one's (undeserving) parents and building an (imperfect) substitute family are at the core of the protagonist's inner conflict. The love-hate relationship between the main couple is sad AND satisfying to watch as it unfolds; just as many tears of mine fell as of theirs. And crying we all did! But all those tears always seemed adequate for the events -- they never seemed contrived or exaggerated. If you like emotional complexity, you will enjoy this show.