Jugglers (2017)

I think Jugglers is the perfect example of a filler drama.  It was watchable, but I was never excited about new episodes.  It's a story that's been done a million times before...  a romance between a cold boss and his meddling employee, the only person who takes the time to get to know him.  This drama delivers the romcom moments as expected. The other focus of the story is the life of personal assistants (aka Jugglers), who appear to be the unsung heroes of the corporate world.  The problem with the juggler story is that it honestly wasn't that interesting.  This drama tries to add all kinds of scandals, and betrayals, and self realization to the juggler world, but none of it stayed interesting for long. I think the problem is that they tried to juggle too many uninteresting storylines.

First I'll mention what worked, and for me that was Choi Daniel. This is the part where I confess that I probably kept watching because I was developing a crush on Nam Chi Won at the same time Yoon Yi was. Being handsome has a lot to do with it, but he really was great in his role.  I loved finding out more weird and adorkable things about him hiding behind his rigid and serious exterior. I also thought Yoon Yi was cute without crossing too far over into annoyingville. I think the romance between these too really worked well, and carried the show. There are lots of cute, sweet, and even some sexy moments. Some moments were a bit too cheesy for me, but that goes back to the bad writing, not the acting.

I think the same can be said for Lee Won Keun and Kang Hye Jung. Their relationship was definitely weird, but adorable. Although I liked watching  how their characters became closer, and think their relationship arc was better than the main couple, I still feel like making them deal with stupid  storylines made them a little less appealing.  

The rest of the supporting cast was mostly good. I liked the office worker cast, though they were mainly there for quick commentary, and comic relief.  I was a little less impressed with  the 4 girl friends. Their scenes all together were pretty boring, and since their friendship is a large part of the plot, that's not a good thing. I especially wish that they gave her coffee making friend more of a story besides just being the mediator.  Then there are the villainous bosses, who were so over the top that I couldn't take that part of the story seriously.  Some situations were funny, but they got to be so repetitive, that I could no longer laugh without cringing a little.  They also waited too long to add depth to some of the characters.  The last episode is way to late to try to make me sympathize with a person who's been in jerk mode for 15 episodes. Too many of the supporting characters were written to be one note.

I think some of the disconnect with me and this drama may be also cultural. I can't really relate to dating scandal plots, and I don't see the big deal about divorce,  or being an older employee... So what were major issues for the characters didn't seem so major to me. The office rivalries also couldn't hold my interest, and I was often tempted to skip scenes.  Obviously that means a low rewatch score from me too.

Overall,  I enjoyed enough of it to keep watching till the very end, but I can't quite recommend it, or say that it was good. It took a while to grow on me, then managed to hold my interest, but I can see myself forgetting all about this drama in a few months. If you like romance dramas, and you don't have anything exciting in your queue, this could be a good way to fill the time.  It's probably much better to binge watch too, so you don't get bored, or tempted to drop it.  At the very least you've got Daniel being as cute as possible for 16 episodes, and for me that was good enough!

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This story was 85% wonderful, and then 15% fell just south of that in the last couple of episodes. It wasn't perfect, but I still think it was worth a watch and is a super cute office romance comedy. If nothing else, do it for Choi Daniel! :) But I have to say that Baek Jin Hee was bringing the cute in spades! I was anticipating a much higher score for this, if the ending hadn't fallen just a little flat for me. Like the writers got close to the end and then just weren't quite sure how to wrap everything up. I did enjoy the epilogues of the characters even if it wasn't *quite* what I was hoping for or expecting for our main characters.

The office hijinks played a large part in this show, as the description indicates. However, the office stuff was also kind of where its weak point lay as well. I enjoyed the burgeoning relationship between our leads, Chi Won and Yoon Yi, and the antics of their office department. They had a great supporting cast there. Lee Won Keun as Hwangbo Yul, although mostly a character I sympathized with, also had quite silly and annoying moments of aegyo because he's basically a man-child. Kang Hye Jung as his assistant Wang Jung Ae was just the mothering, loyal assistant he needed. I think they did a pretty decent job with the comedy parts of the show as well as the romance parts. There were lots of laughs and a few swoon-y moments as well. :)

The theme song was catchy - I caught myself singing it a few times.

I would say that this is a fairly decent romantic comedy as long as you don't set your expectations too high. It's cute and fun as long as that's all you are asking from it because the plot is a bit thin. I was just able to overlook that until it got down to the final episodes, and I realized that I wasn't going to get all the answers I was looking for. I would still recommend this to rom-com fans.
As far as re-watches go...I'd say there are several episodes and scenes that I'd watch again, but I don't know if I would do a complete run through again.

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Jugglers.

Should you? Would you? Could you?

You should watch this one (IF YOU WANT TO! )
You would recommend this to others. (MAYBE!)
You could watch this again. (Not really)

ENDING: Happy

The story is nothing new yet it somehow hooks you. It’s the characters who make it come alive.
The most hilarious moments are with the office staff with their (mis) interpretations of various events. They send you into splits. They are simply awesome.
The lead pair are good actors. I just didn’t like the way their characters turned silly when they started dating. After seeing him so stern and principled to suddenly see him acting foolishly is literally “foolish”. But all in all their chemistry is good and the change in Chi-Won’s character from cold to compassionate is worth checking out. The second lead pair is refreshing ( loved their parallel story). Once they overcome their hitches, they seem like the perfect pair facing obstacles together. The anti hero is funny yet evil. He is impressive.
I feel it could have been completed in 12 episodes. Didn’t need to drag it so far. But at the same time it leaves you with a feel good factor.
Watch it on a day when you want to laze around and not stress yourself by getting emotionally involved in the story or characters.

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I jumped into Jugglers after it had completed half its run and while it had some international fans, there wasn't a huge amount of buzz.  This helped me to go in with limited expectations just wanting what was offered:  a fun office romantic comedy.  Happily, that's what I got but not all were pleased so I'll start there.

I don't always address in detail why others don't like a drama but in looking at the comment section on MDL, it becomes very apparent that many found the drama boring so I'll just say that this is somewhat of a "no drama k-drama" in that there is not a lot of super dramatic cliffhanger moments or makjang.  If you re in the mood for that,  strap yourself in and find Money Flower for a fun ride.  This isn't that.  I find that my mood reflects what drama interests me, and if I'm stressed with stuff going on Jugglers might just be what I need.  So if you enjoy something along the line of 20th Century Boy and Girl, another no drama k-drama, this might be for you.  

Any issues I have with this production are relatively minor.  It took me a little while to kind of "get" Baek Jin Hee's character but as the story went on I realized that was okay in that she at least wasn't totally cookie cutter.   I think the office antagonist was a little over the top silly and with something we find out at the very end, I realized it would have been nice to have his character be a little more nuanced with a little more background.  But this is something the writers know they have to be careful with because we're there for the romance generally, not the office politics with this genre.

There is one story point that is hard to address without spoilers. I'll just say that because of something that happens early on to Baek Jin Hee's character, I found it a little much that she would put herself into a scenario at work which would put her in possible professional harms way.  I thought there would have been more concern and drama should have addressed it.

Pros:

Actors:  They are all wonderful and a shout out to Choi Daniel who I was not familiar with before this drama.  This could have been the normal arrogant boss scenario but the writer and actor give us a lovely portrayal that never went to the point of caricature.  Baek Jin Hee has the warmest way of looking at him and while they didn't have sizzling chemistry, they had warm, fun, silly chemistry.  A shout out to Kang Hye Jung and the smiling eyes of Lee Won Geun as well.

Little Things Done Right:  Finally, a drama that has a lead as a divorced character and the world doesn't come to an end,  a lovely ex-father-in-law & son-in-law relationship.  Yes, there is a tragedy that someone is dealing with from the past but it gets dealt with and doesn't bog down the whole drama.  A bossy mom getting told off was super satisfying.  The slippers.  The cactus.   The petty done right.  The repetitive and imaginative use of the middle finger diss.

Bromance:  Absolutely loved it and how it ended up working out for both of the men involved.

Office Co-Workers:  Absolutely fantastic.

Tropes or lack thereof:  So this is a friend to lovers and also a cohabitation drama. There is NO love triangle.  Thank you drama.

Secondary Story:  I love love love the Kang Hye Jung/Lee Won Geun part of the drama as these two people find each other at the right time in their respective lives.  How they help each other through their trials and tribulations was lovely to watch.

I also appreciated that Baek Jin Hee is someone who is interested in a fully mature relationship (which we see in the first 20 minutes of the drama).  I like that they don't turn her into shy, retiring woman after that introduction.  (Great cameo.)

So, as you see, I found this the rare romantic comedy that was both romantic and funny all the way through.  While angst can be super dramatic, I tend to get tired of rom/coms that turn into melos or super angsty dramas for the last 5 episodes.   Therefore, I am especially appreciative that I found something to amuse me even in the ending episodes.  Having said that, I get it, it might not be for you if you are into k-dramas for Drama with a capital D.   But - maybe someday - you might want to chill with a simple rom/com and here it is.

** side note - found out that two hair whorls mean you have 2 loves in life and also giving someone taffy is a diss.  Who knew?!

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All in all this drama was okay to watch, but it is nothing to remember.
The general plot is nothing new, but if you enjoy that kind of drama, there is nothing wrong with it. Hard-working girl meets unaproachable male boss, discovers his hidden soft side/ past heartaches and falls in love.

The thing that vexes me most however, is the storyline that was all over the place. The writing was done very haphazardly and lacks effort. It opened up several interesting side plots and aspects which were never really dealt with or completed. They painstakingly introduce the main leads phobia and troubling past, but for what? What happens to Wang Jung Ae? What about her husband and her relationship to her boss? Similarly, what exactly is the relationship between Bo Na and her boss (the end confuses me there) and what's her future like? I feel I've ended up with more questions than answers.
Some of the personalities were quite flat and did not improve over time. This was particularly so with the female lead and the antagonistic boss. Bo Na does have a story, but nothing really comes of it. The same is true for the main lead which is unfortunate.
It can be painful to watch women in Asian Drama in general, and this drama has more of it than most. Bosses are male, dominant and and protect weak (even though professional) female assistants who spend their time cooking, being told about appropriate shoeware/makeup and babysit the department. But you know what you're in for, so that comes with the territory... At least it has a divorced male lead and (single) mothers.

The acting was okay but sometimes a bit over the top. I particularly did not like the female lead who alternates between efficient office professional and a somewhat demented teenager who acts all cutsy. I wonder what part of her personality Nam Chi Won fell in love with, the cutsy girly dimwit doesn't appear to be his taste at all. Maybe that is why I didnt feel a real connection between the main couple, it lacks chemistry and sparks.
I loved Hwang Bo Yool who really transforms over time which is portrait very well through Lee Won Keuns acting. The relationship between him and his assistant outshines the main couple.

Some things lightened the mood and made me complete the drama after all: Choi Daniel acted well enough and his scenes were worth watching. Some scenes were sweet, some ideas fun to watch (cactus, manga quotes, boss/tenant relationship,...)

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This should be rated no higher than 6/10 but typical K-fandom and visual obsession means their ratings start from 7 and onward, anything lower and they feel as if they've betrayed their religion or something.

This drama's plot was lackluster at best and irritatingly lazy at worst. The characterizations were so dull and one dimensional that they may as well have just told the viewers how to feel about each character upon introduction. The acting was either stiff or unnatural. Sure it capitalizes on cutesy romance but it tries to be too many things at the same time and while using a whole bunch of tropes just as some weird sprinkles on top of the mess.

The male lead was an anime/manga fan which was appealing, and the references were decent but the pure cringe from how he behaves and represents it was not. The female lead was cringey in more ways than I would like to remember.

The female lead's friends had one toxic bitch that they just blew out of proportion and almost tried to justify it, made me go from being bored to just being irritated with this, but finished it out of completionism. And of course, the female lead trying to be the nicest person in the world irritated me as well.

It felt like the entire purpose of this was to advertise Korea's most sexually abused, oppressed and degraded career and then glorifying it visuals. Cinematography was good, the music was as dull as the plot.

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I do had expectations for this drama but I was really disappointed cause it's very normal story nothing new in it

In the contrary it was illogical in many events like;

the male was having Oedipus
Suddenly without any therapy he was cured at end of the drama

The plot was very regular although many times it becomes boring and monotonous

But it was satisfied in one thing
The writer didn't leave a character without saying what Happened to them

Only one thing I didn't get
Why Jung hye was putting in gyo pic at her restaurant and what happened to him after getting released from jail

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Annoying drama with cliche storyline

This is a typical cold ceo and cute, bubbly meddling assistant type of drama. However, the character of the female lead was annoying as hell. She was extremely lickass to the point where she didn't even fight back when her dignity was at stake. I guess "ENDURE TILL NO MORE " was her way of life. However, it became too much for me to endure and i had to keep fast forwarding scenes , the only solace being the super handsome male lead. There was zero chemistry between the leads. So, to keep your cool unless you want to drool over the male protagonist you can simply skip this drama.

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Was I watching something different from everyone else?!

I must have been watching a different show than everyone else. I didn't care for this show at all. I didn't find it funny in the least, and so many of the characters were completely unlikeable. Her original boss was the worst, and I'd like to think that he couldn't really get away with being that evil for that long. Daniel Choi did a good job, I think the problem was with the script. I really didn't care for the female lead's character. She was always in his face, even when he told her he didn't want to see her, asking him all kinds of personal questions. The first kiss that they shared was the worst! He looked so uncomfortable, bent over to reach her lips, and it didn't resemble, in any way, a real kiss. So many cliches - wrist grabbing, pulling the car over and telling her to get out, excessive drinking, evil mother, irritating ex (2 of them!), emotionless back pat, umbrella in the rain, the list goes on. On the plus side, the kisses did get better. Happy ending, but nothing specific to it, walking into the sunset talking, that's it!

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WOW, awesome drama, i managed to complete only few kdrama because i just drop drama if it as more of manjanks, but where as this drama is simply superb one
Romance 10/10
Comedy 10/10
The second couple were also awesome and good chemistry between them
All the supporting actors and co artist did their job perfectly and it is only on the favorite and best drama i have ever watched

INTRODUCTION:
A woman has lived her life with a passive attitude. She has a spirit of devotion and obedience. A man refuses interests of other people and developing relationships. The woman and man meet as secretary and boss.
Native title: ????Also Known as: JeogeulreosuGenres: Business, Comedy, RomanceTags: Office Romance, Boss/employeeCountry: South KoreaType: DramaEpisodes: 16Aired: Dec 4, 2017 - Jan 23, 2018Aired On: Monday, TuesdayNetwork: KBS2Duration: 60 min

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There is nothing remarkable about this drama, but it was definitely a cute and enjoyable watch. I watched because of Choi Daniel and I'm glad I completed it!

Truly, I haven't watched many office romances, but this was a nice, lighthearted take with an easy to follow plot. It did seem to lose it's thread a bit somewhere near the end however. My favorite part was that they didn't meander with the romance and take until near the very end to get together, which is a pet peeve of mine with many dramas.

The cast all had good chemistry together, but I think the standouts were Kang Hye Jung as Wang Jung Ae and Lee Won Keun as Hwang Bo Yool. (I've apparently seen Lee Won Keun before but I don't know how I didn't remember him and his wonderful smile that absolutely lights up a room!) Truthfully, I wish we had gotten even more of them together because I'd watch a drama for them alone.

The music was fine but not particularly memorable.

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