Wild Chives & Soybean Soup

Title:	Wild Chives & Soybean Soup: 12 Year Reunion
Alternate Title(s):	N/A
Genre(s):	Melodrama, Romantic Comedy
Episodes	26
Network:	JTBC
Year Produced:	2014
Available to Watch On:	DramaFever, Hulu, dramafans.org

Summary: Wild Chives & Soybean Soup is a k-drama that has several intertwined stories that all revolve around three families: Yoo, Jang, and Joo. The primary story begins in 2002 with high school students Yoo Joon Soo (Lee Won Geun/Nam Gung Min) and Jang Gook (Yoon So Hee/Lee So Yeon), who fall in love and conceive a child after a night of drinking and celebrating a World Cup win. The families quickly object to their relationship and they are ultimately torn apart. Jang Gook, unable to cope, flees to the US to heal her broken heart. The show then fast forwards 12 years and the couple is reunited by a strange twist of fate. Other key narratives involve friendship, parent-child relationships, one-sided love, marriage, and divorce.

RATING:

♥♥♥

Sad. I wish it had more episodes.

Recommendation: It is a little difficult to review this k-drama because it was just starting to hit its stride when the series was canceled. Consequently, the ending is rushed and somewhat disappointing with many of the major plots being resolved inadequately or not at all. I think it is worth a watch but with an understanding that you'll be left with more questions than answers. While I personally feel that family themed dramas don't translate well into 50 episode arcs, I thought this one might be moderately successful. I was obviously wrong as the viewers didn't tune in for it. Still, the teen and adult cast are all strong actors and I wish them the best on their next projects.

Hong Gil Dong

Summary: Hong Gil Dong is a 2008 period drama written by the Hong sisters for the television network KBS. It explores the origins of the anti-hero Hong Gil Dong (Kang Ji Hwan), the righteous thief, as he attempts to rise above his birth status to change the world. The series also features Jang Geun Suk as Prince Chang Hee and Sung Yu Ri as Heo Yi Nok. This is an adaptation of the famous Korean novel The Tale of Hong Gil Dong.

-1/2 heart for JGS whispering ALL the time

Hong Gil Dong Disco Style

Recommendation: Watch it! This is a great production that showcases the breadth of Kang Ji Hawn's talents and the genius of the Hong sisters. It's a very stylized production that doesn't get boxed into the historical category but does manage to retain the essence of the period. Despite some serious moments, this k-drama is a lot of fun and I found myself laughing out loud more than once. The ending is, at first glance, tragic. But it was filmed so beautifully and so well executed that I was left in awe. This k-drama is not without flaws but they aren't large enough to impact the overall experience. Even if you don't like historical dramas, I think this one has something to offer everyone.

Bride of the Century

Summary: Bride of the Centrury is a 2014 k-drama produced for CSTV. This sixteen episode series is centered around the Choi family, owners of the multi-million dollar conglomerate Taeyang Group. As their eldest son Choi Kang Joo (Lee Hong Ki) prepares for his arranged marriage with Jang Yi Kyung (Yang Jin Sung), the rumor that the family is cursed resurfaces. According to the legends, the first wife of the eldest son in each generation will die on her wedding night. When mysterious forces begin plucking at the threads of fate, the lives of everyone involved are irrevocably changed.

-2 1/2 hearts for bad casting and a bad ending

Recommendation: My opinion regarding this drama will probably be unpopular. But, I didn't love it. This is another one of those k-dramas that had a great set-up but ultimately failed to deliver. There were a lot of great moments in the first half of the series and I was excited to see how everything connected. But the explanation was...meh. And, frankly, this wasn't a great role for Lee Hong Ki. I struggled through the entire series to see him as Choi Kang Ju - a cold and logical businessman afraid of love. Sung Hyuk as Jang Yi Hyun was equally unimpressive as the rival for Na Doo Rim's heart. Then, the series ends with what has to be one of the most anticlimactic wrap-ups in k-drama history. It came across as, "...and then everyone said they were sorry. The end."