One Zombie, Sharing Her Love of all Things Hallyu With The World
With today being Valentine’s Day, I spent an awful lot of time wondering whether I should cater this post to the romantic readers who embrace this day of love or to those who wish February 14 would disappear from the calendar forever. It’s been a difficult decision but in the end, I decided that either way, I’d be upsetting someone so I decided I’d just stop worrying and pick a drama that was so good you wouldn’t care what day of the year it was.
This week brought with it the end of KBS’s most recent romantic dramedy, The Prime Minister and I so naturally, I have to recommend it as the drama to marathon this weekend.
I’ve heard some refer to The Prime Minister and I as the Korean version of The Sound of Music but to me, that’s such a shallow generalization that it doesn’t do either show justice. The Prime Minister and I is the story of a young, gossip rag journalist, Nam Da Jung (YoonA) who finds herself in an absurd scandal with the newly appointed Prime Minister of Korea, Kwon Yool (Lee Beom Soo). 
To save face and grant the drunken plea of a very distraught Nam Da Jung, Kwon Yool agrees to enter into one of my favorite DramaLand tropes, a contract marriage.
While the contract marriage is nothing new in the world of K-dramas, the addition of three children who want nothing to do with a step-mother they know nothing about, is. 
And here, I suppose is where the comparison of The Prime Minister and I and The Sound of Music makes the most sense, as Da Jung and all of her plucky optimism, works her magic and restores the broken relationships between Kwon Yool and his children, as she simultaneously wins each of their hearts. Yes, I’m happy to say that just as Maria won over the hearts of the Von Trapp family, Da Jung is slowly accepted by the Kwon family and the moments she breaks through each of their tough exteriors is absolutely adorable.
Unfortunately, the warm-fuzzies of this show are, in the end, overshadowed by the return of an unexpected character and if you haven’t already watched The Prime Minister and I you may want to stop reading here because I’m about to spoil this big-time for you! If there’s one thing I hate in DramaLand, it’s how often people who were believed to be dead, suddenly come back to life and
unfortunately, The Prime Minister and I falls victim to this overused and exceptionally annoying trope. What bothers me even more is how this person, who thought it best to fake her death and inflict that type of pain on her family, can come “back to life” and suddenly expect to have everything return to normal. But what bothers me, more than anything, is how this particularly selfish and (in my opinion, totally undeserving) individual can get everything she wants while almost everyone around her suffers. Why is it the only person in this drama who doesn’t deserve a happy ending is the only person who gets one? What’s up with that? 
What’s worse, we as viewers aren’t even given the satisfaction of a half-hearted kiss at the end of it all. Oh no! We’re left with a handshake and a smile. A HANDSHAKE! Seriously? I’d take a thousand horribly unenthusiastic lip smooshes (sorry Heartstrings, I’m still not over your ending “kiss”) over a stinking handshake any day!
Personal disappointments aside, I did enjoy The Prime Minister and I. I thought the story moved along at a decent pace, the actors did well in their roles and I was emotionally invested enough by the end to cry through at least half of the final episode (and not because of that stupid handshake). 
As an added bonus, Yoon Si Yoon plays the second male lead, Kang In Ho, and honestly, he’s was enough to have me coming back every week… I couldn’t help it, Si Yoon is just too adorable! If you’re a sucker for adorable second male leads, contract marriages, adorable children and sappy yet infuriating endings, The Prime Minister and I is the drama for you. Happy marathoning!
For those of you who’ve already seen The Prime Minister and I, I’d love to hear what you thought of it. Did you enjoy it? Did you hate it? What was your favorite scene? What did you think of that stupid handshake? As always, I’m more than eager to talk dramas so be sure to leave me a comment below!
I don’t know how this week has been for you but for me, it’s been an absolute nightmare. In an effort to salvage what little sanity I have left, I decided to go back in time and pull up a drama whose very name invokes all manner of warm-fuzzies for me, in the hopes that those warm and pleasant memories would be strong enough to drive all of the crappiness of this past week away. While I can’t say this desperate attempt to forget my life for a moment has been totally successful, the memories I have of sitting down to watch my very first K-Drama, and the feelings that inevitably followed, were enough to bring about a few moments peace which is why I’m now suggesting you make the time to marathon My Princess this weekend.
With Rain’s comeback well underway, I thought it only fitting to celebrate by marathoning Rain’s 2004 rom-com hit, Full House; which is why I’ve decided to feature it as this week’s Friday Night Drama.
With so many dramas having come to an end in recent weeks and a new wave just starting, things are a bit slim in the currently airing drama department which is why I’ve decided to go back in time a bit and feature one of Taiwan’s rom-coms of the summer, Love Around for this week’s Friday Night Drama.
This week not only brought with it the end to another year, it also brought the end to one of the best dramas of 2013, that always hilarious, quirky and frustrating gem of a K-Drama, Answer Me 1994.
With last week’s premier of My Love From Another Star, I thought it was only fitting to go back in time a bit and see what our new favorite bias, Kim Soo Hyun, was up to before he became the world’s most adorable alien; which is why this week’s drama is none other than the ever popular high school musical, Dream High.
If the awkward hugs and lame-sauce kisses of most K-Dramas have left you feeling disappointed one too many times, this week’s drama, Last Cinderella, is guaranteed to set all those past wrongs right.
Last night brought us the end of one of the most popular K-Dramas of the year, so it’s only fitting that this weekend’s drama to marathon is none other than SBS’s star-studded melodrama, Heirs.
Starring Lee Min Ho, Park Shin Hye, Kim Woo Bin, Kang Min Hyuk, Choi Jin Hyuk, Kang Ha Neul, Krystal Jung, Park Hyung Sik, Choi Won Young, Yoon Son Ha, Im Joo Eun, Kim Ji Won, Kim Sung Ryung, Kim Mi Kyung and Yoon Jin Suh, Heirs follows a group of wealthy, privileged high school kids as they struggle to find themselves and fall in love amidst the pressures and expectations placed on them as inheritors of some of Korea’s biggest companies.
This week brought with it the end of KBS2’s most recent time-traveling drama, Marry Him If You Dare. As I’ve spent the past eight weeks writing reviews on each week’s episodes for DramaFever, I’d think myself a slacker if I didn’t recommend Marry Him If You Dare for your weekly dose of drama.
Starring Yoon Eun Hye, Lee Dong Gun and Jung Yong Hwa (swoon), Marry Him If You Dare tells the story of the time-traveling Na Mi Rae, a young call center employee who is surprised by a visit from her very disgruntled future self. Desperate to change her fate, the Mi Rae of the future braves all sorts of peril to travel back in time, in hopes of changing the past and therefore her future. What the future Na Mi Rae doesn’t know is that once she starts changing the past, there’s no telling what will happen to her future.
I could go in to all kinds of details about the characters and plot in this drama but I don’t want to ruin the suspense for those of you who are planning to watch it for the first time. (Well, that and I’ve already thoroughly dissected this drama for DramaFever’s Marry Him If You Dare Drama Club which you can read whenever you feel so inclined.) However, I will tell you that having the chance to watch Yoon Eun Hye and Jung Yong Hwa in the same drama is 
pretty darn awesome. I’ve been a fan of Yoon Eun Hye since I first saw her in Lie to Me and (if you couldn’t already tell) Jung Yong Hwa is one of my biggest biases. That being said, I started watching Marry Him If You Dare just because I was curious to see how two of my favorite actors would interact on-screen and my fangirl side was intrigued enough to watch this drama through to the end.
As much as I would like to say Marry Him If You Dare is one of my favorite dramas, the truth is, it’s not. Once you start watching, you’ll understand why. It’s not that the show is bad (though the 4.1% viewer rating it garnered with its last two episodes might suggest otherwise) it’s just missing that something special that endears dramas to their viewers. Still, there are some lessons to be learned from Mi Rae’s antics and an underlying challenge to follow your dreams and find the courage to change your stars, which I really liked. Ultimately, that’s why I encourage you to make Marry Him If You Dare your weekend marathon. I hope you’ll come back afterwards to discuss it with me as I’m always ready to chat (or swoon over Yong Hwa) and I’d love to hear with you think of this drama. If you’ve already watch Marry Him If You Dare, I’d love to know what you think and if you haven’t, come back once you’ve finished and we’ll chat. Either way be sure to leave your comments below! Daume ddo bayo!
