Sunnyelf's blog review of Asian Dramas and Movies.
This blog is a personal labor of love in a constant flux of improvement.
Please Note:
One * = Didn't like it, Don't recommend. Two ** = Typical. Worth seeing at least once. Three *** = I enjoyed it! Worth seeing more then once. Four **** = It's great! Add it to your all-time favorites list! Five ***** = Epic! Highly Recommended. A totally memorable drama/film.
Miss Kim Makes 1 Million/ Ms. Kim's Million Dollar Quest/ 파란만장 미스 김 10 억 만들기/ Paranmanjang Miseu Kim 10 Eok Mandeulgi ** (Korean)
16 episodes
Kim Hyun Ju as Kim Eun Jae
its the day before her wedding and Eun Jae couldn't be more nervous or happy to be married to her long time boyfriend. Only, unknown to her at that moment, he had been swayed away by the rich niece of a president to the company they both worked for. Soon after, a rich to sudden rags playboy finds his family home in jeopardy from a loan shark working under the niece. So the girl and guy team up to make enough money in time to free his home from the enemy's clutches.
You can also find:
(Kim Eun Jae) Kim Hyun Joo(1978) -in- Boys Before Flowers
(Suh Woo Kyung) Kim Sung Ryung -in- You're Beautiful, Iljimae
(Yoo Young Hoon) Park Gun Hyung -in- I Do, I Do
(Han Ji Hee/Eun Jae's colleague) Jo Eun Sook -in- Summer Scent
(Kim Hwi Taek/Eun Jae's landlord) Shin Goo -in- You've Fallen for Me, Sang Doo, Let's Go To School
(Lee Kkeut Soon/landlord's wife) Yeo Woon Kye -in- Hello! Miss, My Lovely Fool, Bad Family, My Name is Kim Sam-Soon, Oh! Pil Seung And Bong Soon Young
(Kim Bong Gyu/landlord's son) Bong Tae Kyu -in- Personal Preference
(Jo Min Ho) Sung Ji Roo -in- Marrying the Mafia
(?) Kim Ja Ok -in- Can't Lose, That Fool, The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince, My Name is Kim Sam-Soon, My Tutor Friend
(Jin Yi) Hong Soo Hyun -in- Lie to Me, Only You, Sang Doo, Let's Go To School, Bungee Jumping of Their Own
(?) Jo Dong Hyuk -in- Mr Goodbye
(?) Lee Sang Yi -in- Couple of Fantasy
(Moo Yeol's mothe) Park Won Sook -in- Bachelor's Vegetable Store, Can't Lose, The Greatest Love, The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince
Even though she wasn't the best character in the story in my mind, I did find the fire-sass temper of Tam Hee of the Yang family(married in) quite interesting to hear for her colorful accent which came out strongest at those times.
A Prosecutor, undercover in search for damaging evidence on a gang family, moves into a seaside fishery under an assumed name. He meets there the daughter of the once 'boss' of the ex-white sands gang. The little family is doing their best to survive and hopefully make enough to wrest control of the Haeundae hotel away from the Yang family... who had taken it from them in the first place.
After a near drowning accident leaves him with no memory of his past occupation edge, the little family takes him in and he falls in love with So Ra, eventually 'fake' marrying her to save face after she was taken for quite a bit of money by her scamming boyfriend.
You can also find:
(Yook Tam Hee/bok jo) Kim Hye Eun -in- I Do, I Do
(Lee Tae Sung/nam nae/Prosecutor) Kim Kang Woo -in- Le Grand Chef, The Beast and the Beauty
(Go So Ra) Jo Yeo Jung -in- I Need Romance, Vampire Cop Ricky
(Lee Se Jo) Choi Sang Hoon -in- City Hunter, Creating Destiny, City Hall, One Percent of Anything
(Go Joong Sik) Im Ha Ryong -in- Me Too, Flower!
(Lee Soon Shin) Lee Jae Yong -in- Athena: Goddess of War
(Boo Young Do) Park Sang Myun -in- Color of Woman, Mary Stayed Out All Night, King of Baking, Kim Tak Goo, She's On Duty
(Shim Mal Nyeon) Kim Young Ok -in- Protect the Boss, Boys Before Flowers, The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince, Dal Ja's Spring, Successful Story of a Bright Girl
Im Jung Eun as Heo Yoon Yi
Kim Ji Hoon as Kim Hyung Do
Not really a romance even though there was the occasional 'hidden' glance from Yoon Yi... so this drama remains unrated in this review. It was quite a bit like a historical version of x-files I liked the mystery concept, such as UFO's, appearing in ancient accounts. The ending was rather confusing though, causing more questions then answers in my mind, There are, of course, tragic events in this drama. Fav Character: the scrambling, jittery, chicken, and yet forgiven sidekick.
A noble sees an unexplained happening one day over the ocean, as he and several others attempted to poison a man who claimed ufo's existed. In turn, after giving his report to the emperor, he is severely punished for spinning tales in a plot. An inspector, known for his straight-laced ways, attempts to discover the truth behind the stories and discovers a vacated town and a royal attempt to cover it up. He is then given no choice but to create a reasonable explanation for the fire in the sky many saw. Then he is set on a new mission working in secret with a small team to learn more about the strange happenings in the area.
You can also find:
(Kim Hyung Do) Kim Ji Hoon -in- Great Inheritance
(Ji Seung) Kim Gab Soo -in- IRIS, When It's At Night, Don't Ask Me About the Past, She's On Duty, He Was Cool, Bungee Jumping of their Own
(Jang Man) Jo Hee Bong -in- I Do, I Do, Fugitive: Plan B, When It's At Night
(Choi Eui Shin) Jun So Min -in- One Mom and Three Dads
(Sook Mi) Jo Jung Eun -in- Vampire Prosecutor, King of Baking, Kim Tak Goo
(Boo Ok) Jo An/Jo Kyung Jin -in- Go Go Sister
(?) Kim Eung Soo -in- Vampire Prosecutor, Fugitive: Plan B, Marrying the Mafia III, Art of Fighting
Konkatsu!/ Marriage Hunting!/ 婚カツ! **(Japanese)
11 episodes
Ueto Aya as Tobita Haruno
Mildly funny romance. Somehow My eyes were always being drawn to the main male lead's hair... it just.. idunno.. it looked weird. Fav character(s): yasu and spunky Haruno.
Having walked away from a previous job in efforts to save the job of a co-worker, Kuniyuki desperately looks about for a new job. finally finding a temporary possibility he tells a fib to pass the 'marriage' requirement. Then finds himself having to back it up before the company president finds out.
You can also find:
Links go to other reviewed shows the actor has been in.
Lost and Found/ Sweet Lies/ 달콤한 거짓말/ Dalkeumhan Keojitmal ** (Korean)
Movie 113 mins
Lee Ki-woo as Kang Min-woo
Funny little romance. Girl was a dorky clutz yet full of spirit... especially when she 'pulled faces' for the camera and nearly got caught doing so several times. Favorite quote(s): "I can remember a time when I was in love with you." "I can't remember a time when I was not."
Girl with a long-time crush on a schoolmate is having a terrible day. First, she awakens late from a drunken stupor and is fired from her job, then she gets her purse stolen by some guy on a motorbike... as if that were not enough, when she goes to chase the purse-snatcher, she runs into an abruptly appearing car. She awakens to discover that the guy who hit her is none other then her crush! ..so she feigns amnesia and having no choice, he takes her to his place. There she lives in bliss for 2 days before once more reality crashes down on her in the form of an old friend who takes her home again and attempts to jog her 'unwilling' memories.
You can also find:
(Ji-ho Han) Park Jin-Hee -in- Love in Magic
(Min-woo Kang) Lee Ki-Woo -in- He Was Cool, Windstruck, Flower Boy Ramen Shop
(Ji-hun Han) Kim Dong-Wook -in- Finding Mr. Destiny, Coffee Prince
(Eun-suk Ko/Ji-ho's friend) Choi Eun-Ju -in- Marrying the Mafia II, Love in Magic
(Han-sang jeong) Cho Jin-Woong -in- Don't Ask Me About the Past
(TV show director) Kim Kwang-Kyu -in- The Secret Reunion, My Mighty Princess, Windstruck, Gentleman's Dignity, Scent of a Woman, Can You Hear My Heart, Oh! My Lady, Hello, My Lady!, The Accidental Couple, Couple or Trouble, Mr. Good-Bye
(tv show contestant/baseball hitter) Min Kyeong-Jin -in- Castaway on the Moon
(?) Yeon Jun-Seok -in- Brilliant Legacy
(?) Jo Seok-Hyeon -in- The Secret Reunion, 200 Pounds Beauty, Vampire Cop Ricky, Art of Fighting
(Dong-sik's mother) Yang Hee-Kyeong -in- Birdie Buddy, Princess Prosecutor, Tamra, the Island, Three Fathers, One Mother, Dalja's Spring
(art director) Kwon Tae-Won -in- Too Beautiful to Lie, Tamra, the Island, Cinderella Man
(doctor) Choi Jin-Ho -in- Kiss Me, Kill Me, Woochi, Seducing Mr. Perfect
(cameo) Kim Sun-A -in- She's on Duty, I Do, I Do, Scent of a Woman, The City Hall, Night after Night, My Name Is Kim Sam-soon
Daddy-Long-Legs/ 키다리 아저씨/ Kidari ajeossi ** (Korean)
Movie 99mins
A sort of melancholy romance story. Implied tragedy. I did like how when the truth became known, they re-showed the flashback scenes with the two in switched places. Fav character(s): The director and his brother.
A somewhat sheltered little girl loses her loving parents at a rather young age, but She manages to meet life's changes head on. One day, she received a gift of shoes from an unknown admirer.. when she arrived at the collage admin in a rush to pay the tuition, she found it had just been paid. She thought to find the person who paid it only to meet a dead end.. so she accepted the help from her unknown "daddy-long-legs".
After collage time was over, she gains employment as a staff writer for a radio show and is given an offer to move into a place close by while the unknown owner was away on sick leave. Soon after, a friendly co-worker moves in, and she falls in love with a guy who works the counter at the company record store.
Then one evening, after her laptop broke, she switched over to the owner's computer and saw timed emails show up, the owner had written letters to herself? In these letters, the owner describes a one-way desperate love and a horrible disease that would soon rob her of her memories. Unable to find the guy described, she decided to air the letters on the radio.
You can also find:
(Cha Young-Mi) Ha Ji-Won -in- Love So Divine, 100 Days with Mr. Arrogant, The King 2hearts, Secret Garden
(Kim Joon-Ho) Yeon Jeong-Hun -in- Love in Magic, Vampire Prosecutor, Can Love Become Money, Snow White
(Kang Jong-Jong/Jjong) Shin Yi -in- Marrying the Mafia II, My Boyfriend Is Type-B
(PD Lee) Jeong Jun-Ha -in- Finding Mr. Destiny, Marrying the Mafia II, He Was Cool, The Greatest Love
(Hyung-Joon) Hyun-Bin/Kim Tae-Pyoung -in- A Millionaire's First Love, Secret Garden, My Name Is Kim Sam-soon
(?) Geum Bo-Ra -in- Art of Seduction, Fake Family Service, Princess LuLu, Biscuit Teacher and Star Candy
(doctor) Seo Young-Hwa -in- Why Did You Come to My House?
(Hyung-Joon's friend) Baek Seung-Hyeon -in- City Hunter, Lie to Me
(postal service employee) Jung Min-Sung -in- Kiss Me, Kill Me, Baby & Me, 200 Pounds Beauty
(girl in flashbacks) Park Eun-hye -in- Exhibition of Fireworks