Perfume (2019)

It's not all about fat shaming. Give it a try!

This drama is a little deceptive, in that it starts out seeming that it’s going to just be a funny romp, but turns into an emotional ride with a lot going on. At the beginning it was a little too slapstick for me, and I pondered giving it up, but decided to stick with it, and I’m glad I did. I went from possibly quitting to “just let me watch one more episode before I go to bed”.
The writing: the writers did a good job with the comedy, but really shone with the emotional scenes. You really get a feel for what each of the characters is going through. This didn’t seem so much about fat shaming, but more about the consequences of the person that gets shamed for being fat. It also speaks a lot to living your dreams and not letting anyone stand in your way. I’ll tackle the actors/characters to address this more fully.
Actors: I felt that all of the actors were good in their parts. I’m only going to address the ones that stood out to me. Shin Sung Rok as Seo Yi Do was brilliant in this part. Here is a man that has the world at his feet, who made his dreams come true because of his first love; however, he was a complete mess. He had a list of phobias and allergies longer than your arm. He was arrogant, cocky, immature, rude and completely emotionally closed off. It doesn’t take long for the viewer to see slow but sure changes in his behavior. The first time he attempts a smile, it looks like he’s afraid his face will crack. As he begins to develop feelings for Ye Rin, Sung Rok does an excellent job of showing that wall around him starting to crack. Sung Rok is gifted with the ability to do physical comedy, and that comes in a lot in this show. But I was really impressed with the emotional scenes. My heart just about broke watching that one tear fall from the corner of his eye. Go Won Hee as Min Ye Rin was very good. She was terrific at acting like a 40-year-old, giving advice to her juniors (which always confused them!). Some of the things she did and said didn’t quite make sense sometimes, until you remember that she’s supposed to be 40 years old. In some ways, it was watching a caterpillar turn into a butterfly – her self-esteem was so non-existent and she just wanted to be invisible. Her body language was good in that respect. STANDOUT PERFORMANCE for me was Ha Jae Sook as Min Jae Hee. She played this part perfectly. Even in the scenes that were supposed to be funny, she was able to convey her overwhelming heartache, just with her facial expressions. The character of Jae Hee was one that was totally beaten down by life – cheated on by her husband, emotional abuse, giving up all her dreams, mean daughter, just to name a few of her issues. My heart went out to her in any scene that she was in – her feelings of defeat and her vulnerability were almost palpable. A brief shout out to Kim Ki Doo, who played Yi Do’s secretary – he normally plays kind of goofy characters. In this he was very likeable and I really appreciated the way the writers wrote his character and how he got the inside track on what was happening before everyone else. Another shout out to Jo Han Chul, who played Jae Hee’s husband – this is another actor that normally played kind of loud, quirky characters. In this show he was chilling. He progressed from just a self-absorbed man to a psycho. It was scary to watch.
The OST was lovely and the music really lended itself to increasing the emotional impact of the scenes.
Chemistry between the leads was lovely and there were a few really nice kisses.
I have to admit I was a little confused by the ending, and disappointed that it was so abrupt, but watching Yi Do living his life in faith, believing that he’d see Jae Hee again, was lovely.

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Really Funny

I laughed all the way through this drama. I think part of my amusement came from seeing Shin Sung Rok get his butt kicked by love because he was such a villain in "My Love From the Stars" and "The Last Empress". The story is very unique and the characters are even more unique making this a joy to watch . You can't really guess anything that will happen in any episode.

Add to that the glamour of modeling and fashion design with very beautiful people and the whole thing really is quite riveting. The ending was a little off but still good and tied up the whole entire series quite comfortably.

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Not a perfect drama but is still good nonetheless

It is the type of drama you would watch for relaxation or after a day of pure tiredness, the comedy is not over the top like how some other dramas are and actually lifted my mood up. They realistically highlighted how easily our self-esteem can be damaged by the current standardised beauty expectations in the media and how it is not a piece of cake to just learn to love yourself. I love the actors and actresses in this drama, especially Shin Sung-rok with the way he portrayed a shy yet straightforward man that had a bunch of phobias. The character is iconic and is a whole mood. I really don't know how else I would expect a character like that to be portrayed in the drama, and there was not really a cast member that dragged the drama behind in terms of acting skills. There are some times where I cringed at Min Kyu's parts but I don't know if it's because of his character or acting, I'll need to watch more of his projects to know. The wholesome chemistry between the ml and fl kept me watching this drama and I would love to continue following their future projects!

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I think this is one of the underrated kdramas. It was actually very interesting and entertaining. The story was well-written. It is a fantasy, but I never found it corny or boring - really no boring episodes.

It is a great idea that Shin Sung-rok would play this kind of role. He is really a great actor - either a villain or a comedian. I think it was in "The Last Empress" kdrama where I realized that he can also be a comedian, and it's great that months after the end of "The Last Empress", this drama was released. And it was really good.

Kim Min-kyu is so cute and funny. I find him very entertaining. Also, I love how he and Shin Sung-rok fight over Go Won Hee.

The story is really great, and very mature. I love how things ended.

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“Perfume” is an excellent production! The drama, although not perfect, is fun, heart wrenching, heartwarming, innovative, surprising, and a real treat to all the senses. The cast was phenomenal bringing their characters to life. Even though Go Won Hee performed very well as Min Ye Rin, the character that rounded the drama and gave depth to the story is really Min Jae Hee, portrayed by the amazing Ha Jae Sook, which is a very talented actress and she gave a stellar performance. Last but not least, Shin Sung Rok. His portrayal of Seo Yi Do as a quirky, sometimes childish and other times a profound and intense man brought the drama to a full circle. The drama is not about fat shaming but it shows the pain and frustration that can potentially leads a person to his/her doom when the people that you love is ashamed of you simply because you’re overweight, and also the inner struggles of this particular person about not been able to come out of the shell that she created for herself to escape the harsh reality of been shunned by your love ones and society. The drama is really romantic but it lacks passion among Seo Yi Do and Min Ye Rin on their romantic scenes. It is all much better when Seo Yi Deo is with Min Jae Hee; there is a sparkle on his eyes and so much tenderness, if only they would have share a kiss, the drama would’ve been perfectly finished showing the real love between Seo Yi Do and Min Jae Hee. Still, a great drama, enjoy it!

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the main character in the beginning seems off putting but once I really got to know the character I began to love. her ability to encourage other when its hard to do that to herself is admirable. also how much she loves her daughter is amazing too. she is also independent which is rare with rom-com girl protagonists. the love interest is hilarious. his acting is spot-on. for me I really enjoy this sort of plot-line, so I can't say everyone will love it as much as I do. the sound track is really good. fits well with the theme. the pacing is also really good. this is my first review so thats all I have to say, but give it a try. who knows, you may like it.

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