You Who Came from the Stars

(Also known as “My Love From Another Star“)

It’s been a while since I last watched a K-drama, and it’s been even longer since I last saw one that got me completely captivated. The last one was probably Secret Garden, back in 2011. (Although I did really enjoy To The Beautiful You). My sister is still pretty updated with the latest dramas and she strongly encouraged me to watch this one. She told me that since I love shojou mangas with a tsundere male, I would enjoy this a lot. And surprise surprise, she was right. Just one episode in and I was hooked.

SUMMARY:

Here’s the basic plot of the story according to Wikipedia:

Do Min-joon is an alien that landed on Earth in the year 1609 during the Joseon Dynasty. As his spaceship is broken, he is stranded on the planet for the next four centuries. He possesses a near-perfect appearance, enhanced physical abilities involving his vision, hearing and speed, and a cynical, jaded view regarding human beings. He meets a young girl whom he saves from death, but later on she gives her life saving him.

As time goes by, Min-joon is forced to take on a new identity every ten years, as his human appearance never ages.

In the present he works as a college professor and finds out that due to a comet coming in three months, he will be able to return to his home planet. In the meantime he accidentally meets famous actress Cheon Song-yi, the biggest Hallyu star in Korea, when she moves in next door to his luxurious apartment and also turns out to be attending his classes at college. Song-yi is an obnoxious, entitled attention seeker, someone who became a top star in her teens and never learned how to live a normal life. Min-joon finds out that Song-yi looks like the young girl he fell in love with in the Joseon era. He tries to keep himself away from her, as he needs to leave the planet.

However, Song-yi gets entangled in the dangerous game of Lee Jae-kyung, the elder brother of Hwi-kyung, who has been her friend since middle school and is in love with her. As Jae-kyung tries to silence Song-yi, Min-joon finds himself saving her multiple times and eventually the neighbours fall for each other. But Jae-kyung turns out to be much more dangerous than Min-joon suspected and he mysteriously also starts to lose control over his superpowers, making his only friend and confindant, Lawyer Jang worried about his life and return to space.

(The summary is pretty accurate, except for the part where it says his spaceship was broken. I’m pretty sure the reason he was stranded on Earth was because he was poisoned when it was time for the spaceship to leave so he got left behind. But I definitely agree with the statement about his “near-perfect appearance” XD)

I have just got to say that I LOVED this drama. So even though I’m extremely busy with work, I just had to write this quick review. To keep it short (well, shorter than my other K-drama reviews), I will try to focus only on the aspects of the show that I liked. Please be warned that this review will containMAJOR SPOILERS. So if you plan to watch it, then you might want to close your browser now.

THE CHARACTERS/CAST:

Cheon Song Yi (Jun Ji Hyun)

She was one of the main reasons I decided to watch this K-drama. My Sassy Girl is one of my all-time favorite movies, and I loved her in it. I remember first watching it back in college. I enjoyed it so much that I even made all my friends (and a few family members) watch it. I love that Cheon Song Yi’s character in this drama is pretty similar to her character in My Sassy Girl. They’re both bossy, confident and ultimately “sassy”. One major difference from her character in Sassy Girl is that Cheon Song Yi is pretty ditzy, which only makes me love her more. You guys know I have a soft spot for girls who are adorably cute and clueless. (think Go Mi Nam in You’re Beautiful, Mi Ho in MGIAG, Nodame in Nodame Cantabile and Yuan Xiang Qin in It Started With A Kiss). I say “clueless” because I don’t believe that Song Yi was actually stupid, despite what her bashers say – in fact I think she’s pretty clever. It’s just that she’s always had someone around to do things for her and clean up her mess ever since she was a kid, so she’s never had to fend for herself. She never had to take school seriously either because she started acting and earning big money at such a young age. Naturally, when the people taking care of her abandoned her, she was at a loss.

I truly admire Cheon Song Yi’s confidence and tenacity. And I applaud her for going right up to Do Min Joon and admitting her feelings to him. Personally I think it’s absurd to love someone and not tell them (unless they’re married or in a relationship or something). You’ll just waste years of your life wondering about things that could have been (example : Yoo Se Mi). I understand that confessing to someone can be terrifying, but at least you’ll know how they feel about you. If they like you too then hooray! And if they don’t then you can make a choice to keep fighting for them or move on.

I didn’t think I could love Jun Ji Hyun more after My Sassy Girl but this drama proved me wrong. The reason I enjoyed this show so much was because of her crazy antics. She’s not afraid to make herself look stupid or crazy, and I admire her for that. She’s confident, self assured and dauntless, but you can’t help but want to take care of her because she’s so clueless. Even her brother, a high school student, seems to know more about the world than she does.

I read on Allkpop that Kim Soo Hyun personally called and persuaded Jun Ji Hyun to play this role after they worked together on Thieves, because she initially refused. KSH believed that JJH is the only actress who could do this role justice so he convinced her. I’m glad he did because I don’t think this drama would have done aw well if it wasn’t for JJH

Do Min Joon (Kim Soo Hyun)

Ah, Kim Soo Hyun. Why must you do this to me? It’s been a while since I obsessed over an actor. I was doing pretty well but you had to go and ruin that. Gaaaah! Why must you be so perfect~

Yep, you know it~

I absolutely loved Do Min Joon. I’m such a sucker for male tsundere characters (i.e. Hwang Tae Kyung from You’re Beautiful, Chiaki Shinichi from Nodame Cantabile and Jiang Zhi Shu from ISWAK). I love how they try to act all tough and emotionless, but deep down they’re willing to go through anything for the girl they care about. *sigh*

Kim Soo Hyun did an amazing job in this drama. I smiled when he smiled and cried when he cried. I broke down in tears when he told Cheon Song Yi to leave him alone because he doesn’t have feelings for her, but froze time as she walked away so he could give her a goodbye kiss and tell her how much he truly loves her. And when he started crying as she was talking about the things she wanted to do for their future anniversaries (because he knew he be gone by then) – that was just heartbreaking. This was my first time watching any of his work, but you can be sure that I’ll be keeping a lookout for him now.

(I found this on Tumblr and I gotta say I agree XD)

Lee Hwi Kyung (Park Hae Jin)

He was one of my favorite characters on the show. I was a big Family Outing fan so I’m happy to see Hae Jin in this drama. Although, honestly, I didn’t recognize him at first. He got so thin!

I thought Hae Jin did a great job with his character.  I never knew he was such an amazing actor.  His actions and expressions are just spot on.  Lee Hwi Kyung’s the kind of guy that girls would want to have in their lives. He was caring, loyal, attentive and he never expects anything in return. (Like that scene when the reporters had Song Yi trapped in her apartment building – his first thought was what if she was starving in there.) He would go to the ends of the earth for Cheon Song Yi if she asked him to. He hopes that Cheon Song Yi will love him back someday, but he doesn’t pressure her to do anything she doesn’t want to do – he just waits patiently by her side and constantly lets her know that he loves her and will do anything for her. She’s rejected him for 15 years, but he never gives up. Honestly, part of me was hoping that they’d end up together, because I felt bad for him. But love is never that simple. And to be fair to Song Yi, she never lead him on. She made it clear that she never saw him as anything more than a friend, and tells him that that’s all he will be to her. There even came a time when she thought about giving up their friendship because she didn’t want to cause him more pain by keeping him around, but he refused. He believed that being friendzoned is better than not being with her at all. Seriously, I just wanted to reach into my laptop at times and give him a hug.

Don’t worry Hwi Kyung – girls will be lining up just to be with with a guy like you. If I didn’t have my Ckloy (and if you weren’t fictional) then I’d be right there along with them.

Lawyer Jang (Kim Chang Wan)

He was a minor character but I thought he was hilarious. He’s a distinguished lawyer and yet he gets into these petty arguments and fights with Do Min Joon (like that cellphone incident). They’re relationship is pretty complicated. Lawyer Jang acts like Do Min Joon’s father because he looks the part, but he also respects Do Min Joon because technically he’s older (plus he saved his life). I thought it was hilarious when he defends Do Min Joon in front of Cheon Song Yi’s mom, the way a real father would defend their son. I admire him for being a loyal friend to Do Min Joon for the past 30 years.

Lee Jae Kyung (Shin Sung Rok)

I normally only talk about characters I like in my reviews but I thought Shin Sung rok was worth mentioning. Obviously as the villain in the story, I did not like his character AT ALL. He was a psychopath with lots of money and power – which made him pretty unstoppable, and he knew it. He was arrogant, two-faced and a cold-blooded killer. Just seeing him on screen made my blood boil. But the fact that he can induce such strong feelings of anger and hatred in me from this drama just goes to show how great of an actor he is. I seriously doubt that he’s as crazy or evil in real life – so I’m quite impressed by his acting. Like the saying goes, a hero is only as good as his villain.

Yoo Se Mi (Yoo In Na)

I didn’t like her character either. She was traitorous and backstabbing and I don’t really feel like talking about her. But she was a major character in the show so I suppose I should say a few things. I understand where all her anger is coming from – having to live in your best friend’s shadow for years must get annoying, but she should have just said something instead of pretending to be a good friend. And she should just have admitted her feelings to Lee Hwi Kyung from the start instead of suffering in silence.

Yoo In Na did an okay job with her acting. I think she could have shown more expression, but maybe that’s how the directors wanted her to play the part. It would make sense that since Cheon Song Yi never once realized that her best friend held so much contempt for her.

I didn’t like Yoo Se Mi that much in the show, but she had this one scene where I couldn’t stop crying.  It was when she realized how much Lee Hwi Kyung loved Cheong Song Yi, and she finally decided to give him up.  She went up to Song Yi to ask her if she could just take Hwi Kyung for his sake.  I believe her exact words (according the subtitles in the version I was watching) was “If Hwi Kyung couldn’t have you he’d be miserable, but you wouldn’t be miserable having Hwi Kyung.  He will cherish and love you forever.  Between the two of us, shouldn’t one of us be happy?”  It was such a selfless act and it redeemed her a little in my eyes.

SCENES I LIKED:

I loved the whole show but here are some scenes that I especially enjoyed

• Cheon Song Yi’s and Do Min Joon’s first meeting in the elevator. As well as her noisy singing later that night (ep 1)

• The Cheon Song Yi Special when she said “propofol” instead of “porpolis” (ep 2)
• Lee Hwi Kyung changing his computer wallpaper to a family picture after being told off by one of his colleagues. His boss’s reaction was priceless (ep3)
• The whole appendicitis incident. I was cracking up the whole time. Do Min Joon is a total tsundere! Who goes to the hospital at 2 in the morning just because they “need to take care of something”. And Cheon Song Yi trying to put on her makeup while she’s in so much pain is just hilarious (ep3)

• Cheon Song Yi’s and Han Yoo Ra’s modelling showdown at the wedding (ep 4)

• Cheon Song Yi hiding out in Do Min Joon’s apartment – lots of little funny moments there (ep 5)
• Cheon Song Yi’s whole driving fiasco. Gawd, this scene had me in tears from laughing so much! The way she baby talks to her car just cracked me up. Who leaves their handbag hanging on the side mirror! (ep 6)

• Lawyer Jang being angry at Do Min Joon for the cellphone incident. I thought it was adorable how angry he was when he found out he wasn’t #1 on Do Min Joon’s speed dial (ep 8)
• The Sassy girl reference in episode 6! OMG, hearing “I Believe” almost brought me to tears!
• When Do Min Joon dropped down from the sky to save Song Yi from going over the cliff. So hawt and awesome!! (ep 8)
• When Manager Beom came over to tell Cheon Song Yi that he’s grown to love her bad attitude and that he misses her (ep8)

• The 15 Second Fairy incident. Kyaaaaaah~ That kiss totally took me by surprise! (ep 8)
• Cheon Song Yi the sleeping bag worm (ep 9)
• The whole kimchi container incident (ep 10)
• Drunk Cheon Song Yi – she’s adorable (ep 2 and 11)

• Do Min Joon’s dream about his future with Cheon Song Yi – so sweet~ (ep12)
• Cheon Song Yi calling out for Do Min Joon in the mountains to see if he truly has super hearing (ep 13)
• Do Min Joon imagining Cheon Song Yi’s life with Lee Hwi Kyung, lol (ep 15)
• That sweet kiss in Euro-town and the cute bed talk that followed after that, awwww~ (ep 16)
• When Cheon Song Yi’s younger brother caught her leaving Do Min Joon’s apartment the next day. I love the talk that he gave her and Do Min Joon (ep 16)
• The scene when Cheon Song Yi was playing cards at the movie set. It was a short scene but that shy smile from Do Min Joon was absolutely adorable (ep16)
• Suzy’s cameo~ I haven’t seen Dream High, but I have an idea what it was about and how the story goes (ep17)
• When Cheon Song Yi’s brother learned Do Min Joon’s secret and turned into such a fanboy, lol (ep 18)

• Cheon Song Yi’s “Marry me” dance for Do Min Joon. It was sweet, funny and adorable. And it made me cry T__T (ep 20)
• The red carpet moment (ep 21)
• I also loved all those short clips they show at the end. Sometimes they’re an extension of what happened in the episode (like when Do Min Joon stood closer to Cheon Song Yi after he told her to back off in the balcony – sweet), and sometimes they show the characters being interviewed (documentary style). I thought that was pretty interesting

MY THOUGHTS:

Obviously I loved this drama. I’m even rewatching it right now.  The chemistry between the actors is great and the story is light but captivating.  I love seeing how the characters develop and grow in the story.  I’m a huge huge fan of this show, but I gotta say that there are two minor details that bug me a little.  Just a little …

First, Do Min Joon’s shower scenes. Not to sound like a perv or anything, but what’s with the towel?? I understand that the director wanted to give us some eye candy and still keep things PG, but c’mon! Who takes a shower with a towel on?? They should just have cropped the shot so it will only show his upper body if that’s what they wanted.

The second thing that bugged me (and this is just a personal preference) was all the turtleneck sweaters. I really don’t like turtlenecks.  I understand that some people find them stylish, but personally I think they’re extremely unflattering. I understand that this drama was set in winter and that they wanted to keep their necks warm, but c’mon. When did scarves go out of fashion? Scarves are stylish and much more flattering in my opinion. There was even a scene where Cheon Song Yi’s mom was wearing this turtleneck sweater with cut outs:

It kind of defeats the purpose of keeping her warm, don’t ya think?

(Whenever I talk about something I don’t like in my Kdrama reviews, I usually get a bunch of hater comments.  But I’m not saying this to offend anyone.  If you like showering with a towel on and prefer turtlenecks over scarves then good for you.  Like I said, it’s just personal preference.)

Anyway, I’m really glad my sister recommended this drama to me. I lost several hours of sleep while watching this, but it was totally worth it. This drama definitely makes it into my All Time Favorites.

I suppose my only other minor complaint about the show is the soundtrack. Don’t get me wrong, I love the songs in the album!  I’ve been listening to Hello, Goodbye by Hyorin on repeat since yesterday.  The songs in the soundtrack are great, which is why I wish they played them more in the show.  I felt like they only song I kept hearing was You Are My Destiny by Lyn.  It’s lovely but there are other great ones in the OST that they could have used as often too.  Though, I must say, I did love the background music for this drama (the ones without lyrics).  I especially love Space Love and Missing You.  The melodies set the tone quite well for certain scenes.

THE ENDING AND MY RATING

I would give this drama 4.9 out of 5 stars. I deducted 0.1 stars because I’m not completely satisfied with the ending. (Although I very rarely find a drama where I was completely happy with the ending – probably because when I really like something I don’t want it to end.) I had several unanswered questions after the show ended. Like what happens to Hwi Kyung? Did he find someone else to love? What about Yoo Se Mi? Will Do Min Joon be able to live on Earth permanently someday? Will he stay young forever and have to watch Cheon Song Yi grow old and die? Will they finally be able to kiss or makeout without him passing out? Can they have a family? What did they tell the media that made them back off regarding his teleportation?

Despite all those loose ends, I really enjoyed this show a lot. This is one of those dramas that I know I will watch over and over again. If you like romantic comedies then I highly recommend you give this a try

Mother

Details

• Title: Mother
• Format: Renzoku
• Genre: Human drama, suspense
• Episodes: 11
• Viewership ratings: TBA
• Broadcast network: NTV
• Broadcast period: 2010-Apr-14 to 2010-Jun-23
• Air time: Wednesday 22:00
• Theme song: Nakigao Smile by hinaco

Synopsis

Matsuyuki plays the part of Nao Suzuhara, an elementary school teacher. When she realizes that one of the female students is receiving abuse from her mother, Nao's maternal instincts kick in, and she impulsively decides to bring the girl into her own care. Serving as a substitute mother, Nao takes the child on a trip from Hokkaido to Tokyo, and the two experience various events together along the way.

Cast

• Matsuyuki Yasuko as Suzuhara Nao
• Yamamoto Koji as Fujiyoshi Shunsuke
• Sakai Wakana as Suzuhara Mei
• Kurashina Kana as Suzuhara Kaho
• Ashida Mana as Michiki Reina
• Ono Machiko as Michiki Hitomi
• Kawamura Yosuke as Kimata Kohei
• Ichikawa Miwako as Yuzukawa Tamami
• Otoo Takuma as Kayama Keigo
• Tanaka Minoru as Fujiyoshi Kensuke
• Ayano Go as Uragami Masato
• Takahata Atsuko as Suzuhara Toko
• Tanaka Yuko as Mochizuki Hana
• Takada Toshie as Nomoto Momoko
• Sato Yu (ep1-2,6)

Production Credits

• Screenwriter: Sakamoto Yuji
• Chief Producer: Tanaka Yoshiki
• Producer: Tsugiya Hisashi, Chiba Yukitoshi
• Director: Mizuta Nobuo, Naganuma Makoto
• Music: REMEDIOS

I Hear Your Voice

I Hear You Voice tells the story of a cynical lawyer, Jang Hye Sung (Lee Bo Young), and a young man, Park Soo Ha (Lee Jong Suk), with the ability to read other people’s thoughts.  They were both part of the same terrible incident as children, but eventually separated.  Soo Ha spends his life in hopes of finding Hye Sung again and holds on to a fantasy of what she will be like in his mind.  To his dismay, when he finds her she is completely opposite of what he had imagined.  But with a man from their past threatening her, Soo Ha is ready to protect Hye Sung no matter what it takes.

Overall, I Hear Your Voice is such a solid drama. The leads have great chemistry, which is something I’ve come to expect from any of Lee Jong Suk’s roles.

There are so many wonderful supporting characters including the naïve lawyer Cha Kwan Woo (Yoon Sang Hyun).  Although his character was very sweet, I never felt much chemistry between him and Hye Sung.  Their interactions were always fun to watch, but I was always rooting for Soo Ha.

This drama has a lot of dramatic elements to it, but it is never presented in a melodramatic way.  There are plenty of light and cute moments to balance things out.  The drama also tends to get better as it goes along, especially as the main story heats up.

Something I find interesting about this drama concerns Soo Ha’s ability to read thoughts.  It is an interesting ability that allows Soo Ha to understand people in ways a normal person can’t.  Despite the flavor it brings to the drama, it is never the sole focus.

I have actually noticed this is more common in Korean dramas than American TV shows.  I have seen several Korean dramas that include some sort of fantasy element that is used to give the show a unique premise rather than be the sole focus of the show.  I personally really enjoy this.  It adds a little spice to an otherwise common story, but still focuses more on the characters and their development.

So if you like thoughtful dramas with some comedy mixed in, a great cast, and great chemistry between the main couple, then check out I Hear Your Voice!

Healer

2014-2015 KBS2 20 Episodes, Grade: B
Action / Thriller / Comedy / Romance

I kept hearing rave reviews about this Korean drama called Healer as I watched other shows - no one seemed to dislike it at all - it's closing in on 4000 reviews for it on Dramafever, one of the highest numbers I've ever seen for any show on the web site. Written by Song Ji Na, a highly respected drama writer who brought Korea great shows like Sandglass and Faith, I knew it had potential to be a real crowd pleaser but even I didn't know at first just how beloved it would turn out to be, making a star out of its good looking leading man, actor Ji Chang Wook. I purposely waited till all episodes were concluded before I started it -- and then I fell asleep on the first episode four times! Whatever magic it was supposed to have I guess I just didn't see it in episode one! 

I gave up for a few weeks, scratching my head over why everyone loved it so much. Then I decided I should give it another chance so I tried again and forced my eyes to stay open for that first episode again -- I think because in that first episode our hero (who really wasn't a hero in the classic sense), a delivery courier code-named "Healer" was almost like a robot or bionic man, running here, running there, and I really didn't feel any immediate empathy for him. He only worked for money, he said, to save for his eventual goal of buying an island paradise and retiring there, spending the rest of his life totally away from human beings. He didn't seem real to me at all. The first episode had chases galore; car chases, rooftop chases, street chases, stairway building chases, elevator chases, and I was a bit overwhelmed. When he stated that he was determined never to feel close to his fellow human beings, or to get emotionally involved with any of his clients, and that he didn't care if the letters and packages and messages he was delivering to people were coming from criminal sources or not, that also didn't win me over to his raison d'être.  

Once I got through the first episode, however, I found the show starting to get more interesting, and by the eighth episode, when they had a great falling elevator scene worthy of Hitchcock, and our hero (who was finally becoming more of a hero in that classic sense) finally showed some human emotions for the girl he had rescued, was I able to say out loud, "Hey, this is pretty good!" To be sure it will probably never be at the top of my long K-drama list of shows watched but it was pleasant and fun, the actors were solid and worked perfectly as an ensemble team, the writing got better as the series progressed, and there was a very nice and surprising happy ending that I thought satisfying. The music was a bit repetitious but then it is in a lot of Korean dramas so I couldn't fault it too much for that. I should add that this show had a LOT of flashback scenes because all the main characters were somehow connected earlier in their lives, but none of them knew that at first -- another common plot device of Korean television dramas. If you're not fully awake while watching this show it can be easy to get confused at first about who's who and who came from which family, because there are so many characters. Just go with the flow, however: you'll figure it all out eventually. 

                                                      Actor Ji Chang Wook in the role of a lifetime

Our man Healer (proper name Seo Jung Hoo, played by Ji Chang Wook) works as a special courier, often servicing nefarious characters from the underground, so he keeps his real identity secret as a matter of self-protection, often wearing disguises to shield his face as much as possible from other people. He works with a computer hacker Ahjumma (older lady) named Min Ja Jo (veteran actress Mi Kyung Kim from Master's Sun) with whom he stays in touch almost constantly by ear mic. Their private exchanges over communication devices are often the highlights of every dramatic scene; they allow the audience to know or to suspect what their next moves will be. They are obviously fond of each other, and Ahjumma loves to tease him. They do not meet in person until near the very end of the show, to keep up the suspense for the audience of their clandestine working relationship.

                         Actress Mi Kyung Kim is always a delight to watch, and this has to be her best role ever

Eventually Healer is hired by a star reporter and TV anchor named Kim Moon Ho (Ji Tae Yu from K-drama Star's Lover, the filmsDitto, Oldboy, and Midnight FM) to check out a young woman named Young-shin Chae (Min Young Park from City Hunter) who is a low level internet reporter whom he suspects might have a family connection to him and others he loves, including his brother, a rich businessman named Moon-sik Kim (Sang-won Park from Sandglass) and his invalid sister-in-law in a wheelchair Myung-hee Choi, who had lost a young daughter years before under mysterious circumstances (the lovely actress Ji Won Do played this role so sincerely; she was herself kidnapped in real life in 1998 at a sports stadium and held for ransom). 

Moon Ho wants a DNA sample from Young-shin, to see if she is his sister-in-law's long lost daughter, and it's up to Healer to get it. However Young-shin is too smart for him and senses he is trailing her. Ahjumma tells him to grab her purse because a comb or brush in the purse would supply them with the needed DNA through hair samples; Healer causes a diversion on the street, grabs her purse, but she tracks him down and a fight occurs in a restroom, with Healer taking nail clippers, holding her tightly from the back so she can't see his face, and getting his DNA samples through her nail clippings.    

 

Actress Min Young Park and Actor Ji Tae Yu are both reporters, of different sorts, but who come together to nail the bad guys

Young-shin seems to be the last person on earth at first who would soften the Healer's heart but her cute and brave personality begins to cause him to get emotionally involved with her as he is ordered to keep a close watch on her after an attempt on her life. After Young-shin starts to work for a company Moon Ho sets up called Someday News she becomes more famous as a reporter, exposing people like corrupt politicians, causing Healer to pretend to be someone else, a fledgling reporter named Bong-soo Park, hired at the station as a newbie, but really to keep a watchful eye over her. As this alternate identity working with her every day, Healer feels more free to give her subtle hints that he's fond of her, but she tells him she is waiting for "someone", touches her heart, and basically tells him she is off limits to him and that he shouldn't get hurt.

 

      Actor Sang-won Park (from Sandglass) plays Moon-shik, who has a lot of secrets he keeps from his family

Young-shin has a sort of girl crush on the older Moon Ho, not realizing the family connection between them. She had always wanted to discover who her birth parents were after being lost to them as a little girl. After being abused and beaten as a child she had been taken in and raised by a loving adoptive father named Chae Chi-soo (Park Sang-myun), who runs a coffee shop and has raised her with good values. Moon Ho keeps her birth information secret from her for everyone's protection. 

Moon Ho, ace reporter that he is, soon realizes the real enemy all of them face, a rich Mafia-type of guy code-named Elder (Choi Jong-won) and that all their lives are at risk because of this criminally insane creep who seems to control so many lives, including Moon Ho's brother-in-law Moon-sik, through blackmail. After having to save Healer as "Bong-soo", Young-shin starts to figure things out, little by little. When Healer loses someone close to him, he doesn't know how to deal with it and turns to Young-shin for comfort; eventually their relationship does turn romantic, and hidden truths are revealed. By the end, Young-shin, Moon Ho, Healer and Ahjumma, team up together to expose Elder and all his cohorts in a very dramatic, exciting fashion. I loved the airport scene near the end - that scene and the falling elevator scene in episode eight were my two favorite scenes in the show.

 

The show Healer is a cool thriller and crime story with many layers to it that was extremely popular on Dramafever (for some reason Koreans weren't as fond of it, only giving it average ratings of 7% throughout its run in Korea - I think Americans simply have different tastes and prefer action shows). The cast all have great chemistry together and it's definitely worth your time to catch this ultra-popular Korean drama. I'm not sure that actor Ji Chang Wook will ever reach the star status of a Lee Min Ho, but he's certainly on his way with the role of Healer. 

Battle of Changsha

Characters:

• Wallace Huo as Gu Qing Ming
• Yang Zi as Hu Xiang Xiang
• Ren Cheng Wei as Xue Jun Shan
• Zuo Xiao Qing as Hu Xiang Jun
• Niu Fun Feng as Hu Xiang Jiang (Xiao Man)
• Gao Xin as Liu Ming Han
• Liu Zhen Jun as Liu Xiu Xiu

Details:

• Chinese
• 32 episodes
• Original run: March 5-12, 2014

Quick Rundown:

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the 1938 Changsha Fire altered the lives of an entire city and country. Before that fateful event, the lively and independent Hu Xiang Xiang is arranged by her brother-in-law to be married to the cold and serious Gu Qing Ming, an Intelligence Officer in the Nationalist Army stationed at Changsha. Only through this marriage can she and her family safely leave Changsha before the Japanese invasion. The two, however, immediately clash upon meeting for the first time, and an engagement seems highly unlikely. But all that is rendered insignificant when the Changsha Fire rages through the city, and Qing Ming, Xiang Xiang, and the entire Hu family must bravely confront the wartime damages on and off the battlefields.

Hu Xiang Xiang: When are you coming back?

Gu Qing Ming: When we’ve won.

Like I said in my first impression of Battle of Changsha, I was interested in this drama mainly because of the WWII setting and Wallace Huo. I love this time period for dramas, and well, Wallace is just so darn good looking. So, imagine my surprise when neither of those things factored that much into my love for this drama. I was confident that I knew what Changsha was going to be all about, namely an emotional love story set in the WWII era, but I was proven wrong. Battle of Changsha is one of the most emotional dramas I have ever watched, and most of the heartbreak doesn’t even have to do with the romance in it.

Although Hu Xiang Xiang (Yang Zi) and Gu Qing Ming (Huo)’s romance played a large role in the drama, it was actually the Hu Family who provided the heart and soul for Changsha. Even the war itself was reduced to being a mere background and plot device for what went on with the Hu Family during this turbulent time. Despite the obvious attention paid to Xiang Xiang and Qing Ming’s relationship, it all seemed somewhat unnecessary, especially when compared to all that was happening behind closed doors in the Hu household. It sounds ridiculous to even myself, but I enjoyed watching the Hu Family’s drama more than the Xiang Xiang & Qing Ming romance. Now, that’s not to say that they weren’t lovely together…but there was just more interesting stuff going on around them.

Besides being pleasantly surprised that Changsha was more of a family drama than the typical wartime romance, I also wasn’t expecting there to be so few battle scenes. I thought for sure a drama that’s set during WWII and even named after a battle would be chock full of intense, drawn-out battle scenes. But nope, there was only about a handful of those, and the actual fighting parts don’t even last that long. Honestly, I had no problem with that because while I like the WWII setting, the whole gore and violence that goes with it ain’t really my thing. So, thanks Changsha for sparing me from having to wince and look away every few minutes! While there wasn’t an overload of these battle scenes, the special effects for them were still excellent and very realistic.

The drama can be separated into two distinct sections because the events that take place in the first half are relatively more lighthearted than the gut-wrenching heartbreak and overwhelming emotions of the last dozen or so episodes. Consider the first half to be the calm before the storm because those final episodes will make you feel like your heart got swept up in a whirling tornado. Your tear ducts will be working overtime because so much happens in such a short amount of time. The unrelenting heartbreaks that occur in these episodes make it impossible to even breathe in between all the sobbing you will be doing. It’s been more than two weeks since I’ve finished watching, and I’m still not totally over the sadness! Still, it’s this aspect of Changsha that makes it such a worthwhile drama to watch. No one ever said war was easy.

The acting from everyone in this drama was on point, with the MVP being Ren Cheng Wei in his portrayal of the overbearing brother-in-law, Xue Jun Shan. Coming in close second would be Yang Zi in her role as Xiang Xiang. It’s not really a coincidence that these two excellent acting performances were for the two most interesting characters. And while everyone else was great in their roles, none of them had the same amount of character depth or nuances to them as these two. In perhaps the biggest shock of this drama, Wallace Huo’s Gu Qing Ming just never seemed very important. A Wallace Huo drama that doesn’t really need Wallace Huo…what’s happening here?! Huo’s acting was great, but his character was just a little too perfect that it made him kind of boring to watch. Of course, he was still very handsome in his uniform. But that’s a given.

I already had high expectations for Changsha, so for it to exceed them is a testament to how great of a drama this is. Even if you don’t dig the WWII setting, there’s so much human drama in this that it almost makes the war elements seem like an afterthought. Sure, the drama in Changsha probably wouldn’t exist if there was no war, but the WWII “character” never overpowers everything else that is happening. I honestly don’t have any real criticisms for this drama besides some very minor things that I can easily overlook. Seriously, everything from the directing to the musical score was beautiful.

While I really enjoyed Battle of Changsha and would recommend it for everyone to watch, I’m not getting ready to rewatch it anytime soon. This isn’t a drama that you can just watch for fun because it really requires one’s full attention. Also, my heart hasn’t quite healed from this drama breaking it over and over again in the shortest span of time ever. With that said, I will gladly watch it again someday because a drama as beautiful as this one deserves multiple viewings.

This & That:

• Wallace Huo and Yang Zi sang the theme song for Changsha, “I Will Remember You/Wo Wei Ji De Ni.” Listen to it because it is gorgeous!
• Wallace Huo recently starred in the c-drama, Perfect Couple, as Jin Yuan Bao.
• Gao Xin played Lu Er Hao, Vicki Zhao and Ruby Lin’s older brother, inRomance in the Rain/Qing Shen Shen Yu Meng Meng.
• Zuo Xiao Qing was born and raised in Changsha, Hunan.