Seo Jung Yeon

Review: You and Everything Else

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

The most important thing I feel I could say about this show, is, don’t let its somber premise put you off.

Show is thoughtfully written, tenderly directed and wonderfully delivered, so much so that I found myself feeling fully engaged, from beginning to end.

Our entire cast is excellent, but the standouts are our leads, Kim Go Eun and Park Ji Hyun, who both give us performances that feel wonderfully raw and real, so much so that I could fully buy that they just simply were these people.

An underrated gem that’s absolutely worth the investment of your drama hours – and your heart. 🥲

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Review: The Midnight Romance in Hagwon

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Some viewers think that this show is brilliant, with its spotlight on the Korean education system, and the effect that it has, on all the players, including students, parents, and teachers.

Other viewers feel that this show is boring and slow-moving, and not worth their drama hours.

Still other viewers think that this show had flickers of promise, but ultimately didn’t live up to that promise, because it was inconsistent in its thematic focus.

I’m in the third camp, just so you know. But really, the only way to know whether this one will end up working for you, is to give it a try.

My advice: You’ll likely know pretty early if you love this one. If you don’t love it right away, better to walk away early, than try to make it work. (Take it from someone who’s been there. 😅)

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Review: Castaway Diva

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

With an interesting premise and a solid cast, Show starts strong out of the gate, at least in my experience.

I loved the younger days portion of our story, and the bonding of our key characters, which sucked me in right away.

Once we move to the present-day portion of our story, though, I feel like Show starts to lose focus, in terms of what it really wants to do, or be.

Show is still feel-good and warm, but because of its lack of focus (at least in my opinion), the watch experience feels kind of.. digressive, in a manner of speaking?

Some lens adjustments are likely to help, which I’ll talk about shortly.

Overall, not bad – but it could’ve been so much better, I feel.

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Review: My Lovely Liar

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

On the upside, Show starts out really strong, with a fun premise that pops, and an OTP that works together really well.

Basically, Kim So Hyun and Minhyun are adorable together, and this was THE highlight of my watch.

Somewhere along the way, however, it does feel like Show loses its handle on things, somewhat, and the balance between fun, breezy rom-com and angsty murder backstory gets thrown out of whack, at least to my eyes.

Show does manage to tie everything together for the finish line, but I do still wish that Show could have managed to stay as strong, in its middle and finale stretch, as it had been in its opening episodes.

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Review: Reborn Rich

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

For a good portion of its run, I found Reborn Rich to be an utterly engaging, absorbing rollercoaster of a ride.

With fun twists and turns that I mostly didn’t expect, and some excellent performances by our cast (Lee Sung Min is STELLAR in this! 🤩🤩), I found myself lapping this up with relish, each and every week.

Your mileage may vary, but I personally didn’t enjoy the last 2 episodes as much as I did the first 14 that had gone before, even though I understood the narrative positives, for taking the direction that Show chooses.

Overall, I still found this to be a solid watch, and I’d say that Show is still a worthwhile spend of your drama hours.

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Flash Review: Everything And Nothing [Mini Series]

| kfangurl

If you’re on the market for a coming-of-age story that leans more subtle, raw, realistic and.. melancholic, than most teen stories, then this little mini series, that’s just 4 episodes of 30 minutes each, might work nicely for you.

I went into this not quite knowing what to expect, but ended up liking it quite well.

Psst: Links to watch are at the end of the review!

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Review: Our Beloved Summer

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

A slice-of-life second-chance sort of romance that manages to pack a good amount of emotional heft, despite its rather unassuming trappings.

I don’t love all of Show’s decisions, but by and large, I found this story and its characters to be thoughtfully written, and excellently delivered, such that everything comes across as raw, honest, relatable and so, so heartfelt.

The standouts are undoubtedly Choi Woo Sik and Kim Da Mi, who both inhabit their characters with so much detail and nuance, that I can’t actually picture other actors playing these characters.

Add on a very lovely, very immersive OST, and this was pretty much drama catnip, for me.

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Flash Review: Handmade Love [Web Drama]

| kfangurl

The thing that piqued my interest about this little web drama, is that I’d been told it’s a story about bringing healing to others. That immediately sounds potentially poignant and uplifting, and like just the sort of thing that might grab my heart.

To be fair to Show, I just wanted to let you know upfront, that everywhere I’ve looked, I’ve seen nothing but love for this little drama.

It’s just.. I didn’t manage to muster up true love for Show, despite my best efforts. However, given how well-loved Show is, I could well be the lone odd duck in the corner. So.. just because I didn’t love it, doesn’t mean that you won’t?

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Review: Do You Like Brahms?

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

A restrained, loving study of music, characters, and their relationships, Do You Like Brahms? boasts characters that are carefully and tenderly drawn, relationships that feel patiently and organically grown, and a narrative filled with music-related touches that demonstrate an understanding of and empathy for musicians.

Our cast is very solid all-around, with each actor bringing their character to life in a way that feels real and believable.

I loved extra, our sweet, bashful, very well-matched OTP, played by Kim Min Jae and Park Eun Bin.

Not only is their romance handled thoughtfully, their individual journeys as musicians and as people, are teased out carefully too.

A very enjoyable ride, particularly if you identify as an introvert &/or a musician.

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Review: The King: Eternal Monarch

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

This show is very ambitious, in just about every sense of the word. It aims to be this very shiny, expensive, mind-bendy parallel worlds thing, with an epic romance at its center, and it therefore aims to blow your mind and sweep you off your feet, in one fell swoop.

Because Show is that ambitious, though, I feel like it doesn’t quite manage to keep all its ducks in a row, all the way through.

Sometimes it kinda-sorta blows my mind, and sometimes it kinda-sorta sweeps me off my feet, but it doesn’t manage to do either with any degree of consistency.

Ultimately, Show is neither as brilliant as its fans say it is, but neither is it as terrible as its critics say it is, either.

It’s actually not bad, with some slightly hefty lens management.

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