Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung (2019)

Dopo una mattone pesante e potente come My Country, avevo veramente bisogno di qualcosa di soft ma allo stesso tempo volevo rimanere nell'ambientazione storica. Ecco come sono incappata in questo drama.
Pur essendoci, soprattutto nella seconda parte, situazioni "drammatiche" l'opera riesce a rimanere leggera e divertente.
Due sono le cose veramente belle. In prima linea, il rapporto tra Hae-Ryung e Rim. Sono spassosissimi insieme. Li ho amati. Hanno una notevole chimica e la risata sorge spontanea. Sono accattivanti.
Poi il capovolgimento dei ruoli di genere. Qui delle donne riescono a diventare storiche, cosa che in quel periodo è ben lungi dall'essere possibile. Nonostante le regole dell'epoca, le quattro ragazze scelte si batteranno per difendere il loro ruolo e per cambiare le regole del gioco.
Oltre a loro, abbiamo anche una carrellata di personaggi tutti caratterizzati molto bene e che sostengono la seconda parte del drama in maniera egregia. In particolar modo la "gang" di storici a palazzo, i colleghi delle ragazze.
Consiglio questo drama soprattutto a chi vuole farsi due risate, a chi vuole vedere una semplice storia d'amore o a chi vuole anche un po' di pepe in più mescolato a tutto il resto.

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Voglio precisare innanzitutto che questo è stato il mio primo drama storico, per cui il mio parere sarà molto da "principiante".

Era partito molto bene, il trailer lo avevo trovato molto accattivante e i primi episodi mi avevano presa abbastanza, tanto che soffrivo a vedere solo due episodi a settimana su Netflix fin quando non ha iniziato praticamente quasi ad annoiarmi, sarà perché in alcuni punti l'ho trovato più confusionario e soprattutto perchè credevo che la trama si sarebbe sviluppata in modo completamente diverso.
Mi sarebbe piaciuto vedere come protagoniste più le apprendiste storiche, ma ad un certo punto la trama inizia a parlare solamente di Dowon.
Goo Hae Ryung è sicuramente uno dei punti forti di questo drama, non è la classica protagonista stereotipata che pende dalle labbra del lead maschile nemmeno nel momento in cui inizia ad innamorarsi di lui, insomma il suo carattere rimane coerente dall'inizio alla fine. Per quanto riguarda il principe Dowon invece l'ho trovato carino, inizialmente la coppia mi aveva anche presa ma col passare delle puntate non ho sentito molta alchimia tra i due.
I personaggi che invece ho adorato sono stati per la maggior parte i secondari, in particolare ho adorato il principe ereditario, Min Woo e tutti gli storici e l'apprendista Song (mi sarebbe piaciuto vedere molto di più lei assieme al principe ereditario che la coppia principale).
I vestiti e le ambientazioni sono una delle cose che ho apprezzato di più e che mi hanno fatto sognare ad occhi aperti ????
Però come ho detto precedentemente ho trovato la trama molto confusionaria nonostante gli argomenti trattati erano veramente interessanti, ma ho trovato il finale scritto in fretta e furia e che a vederlo ho sentito molto "freddo", non so, non mi è rimasto impresso

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Bellissimo, assolutamente da vedere!

Ho appena finito "Rookie Historian: Goo Hae Ryung" e l'ho AMATO ALLA FOLLIA.
Invece di bingewatcharlo in due giorni me lo sono goduto per bene, ci ho messo più o meno due settimane a vederlo, godendomi davvero ogni episodio e l'ho amato tantissimo.
Confesso di averlo iniziato praticamente solo per Cha Eun Woo e devo dire che ne è valsa la bene, a parte che lui è fantastico, ma proprio la storia è stata bellissima. E' stato il mio primo kdrama storico e mi è piaciuto tantissimo!
La trama è super interessante, i personaggi femminili qualcosa di speciale, donne scritte in una maniera quasi impeccabile, le ho amate praticamente tutte, a partire da Goo Hae Ryung, veramente la protagonista più bella che abbia visto in kdrama, per non parlare della regina madre (l'unica altra attrice che conoscevo), di Mo Hwa (veramente che personaggione, la amo alla follia), delle altre storiche, delle dame di corte, tutti personaggi femminili super diversi fra loro, caratterizzati in una maniera davvero interessante.
Gli storici ovviamente sono i miei preferiti, mi sono entrati tutti nel cuore e voglio bene ad ognuno di loro, ma al funzionario Min in particolare.
Niente, tutto troppo bello, così a caldo manco ragiono in modo sensato, però bellissimo, vorrei azzerarmi la memoria per rincominciare a vederlo dall'inizio!

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I freely admit that I watched this Kdrama for Cha Eunwoo, first and foremost. I’m a fan, sue me. But it was also a very good drama. It started as a funny rom-com but soon it became so much more. It told the story of how Christianity first came to Korea, of vaccination and female emancipation… Very intriguing themes that you rarely see in historical Kdramas.

The relationship that I loved best was the romance between Prince Yi Rim and the female historian Goo Hae Ryung. He was 20, she was 26. He was romantic, she was realistic, even cynical. They both wanted to be free but where for her it meant being able to work and having a career, not just marrying and having kids, for him it meant literally getting out of the palace where he’s been held almost a prisoner his whole life long. It was so interesting!

And the second relationship that pushed all my buttons was the one between Prince Yi Rim and the Crown Prince, Yi Jin. Yi Jin was the closest family Yi Rim had. And for Yi Jin, his little brother was the only person in the whole world that he could really trust. He adored Yi Rim. I would go as far as saying that Yi Rim was the only person Yi Jin actually loved. And because of that, the twist with Yi Rim’s true identity hit Yi Jin so hard…

This is a really great drama that’s mainly about the meaning of family, how far you’re willing to go to protect your loved ones and how much you’re willing to sacrifice for your ambition. Both thumbs up from me!

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Rookie Historian really has it all: gorgeous costumes, sweeping romance, laugh-out-loud moments as well as cry-your-eyes-out ones, and - most importantly to me - complex female characters who actively engage with the plot and confront social issues that are just as relevant today as they were in the Late Joseon Era.

You may have your issues with Shin Sekyung, or you may have heard Cha Eunwoo is a bad actor, but neither of those things matter here. The former crafts the best performance of her career with a career so vibrant that it seems to have been designed for her, and the latter rises to the occasion and improves HIS craft as the story delves deeper into his character and explores his personal growth. I personally loved their chemistry and the pacing of their romance, and I find their resolution to be entirely fitting.

As for the rest of the cast? Top-notch acting and well-fleshed out characters all around. There are various arcs, both on the political and personal front, which bring a great deal of satisfaction without resorting to a bunch of extra beta ships that go nowhere. Park Kiwoong as the Crown Prince, Lee Jihoon as Officer Min, and the three other female historians played by Park Jihyun, Lee Yerim, and Jang Yubin are all noteworthy. The last group are especially great because we get to see a strong female friendship play out throughout the show, but Rim (Eunwoo) also gets his own set of friends who are equally adorable to watch.

There are times when the introduction of Catholicism can seem a bit heavy-handed, but overall the theme of a changing world and the impact of globalization is really well-executed and very unique compared to any saeguk (or even modern drama) I've seen. It's obvious the writer and her team did their research, and the story is engaging even if there are one or two over-indulgent episodes.

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This show was so lighthearted compared to other historical dramas

I remember watching the trailer for this show on YouTube about a week before it came out and getting really excited because I honestly love historical dramas.
When I first started watching the show, it was a little slow in the first place however I never judge a show by the first episode because it takes time to introduce characters and the setting and ended up getting excited for a new episode every week as I fell in love with this show.

-Story-
I loved how this show took its time laying out the story episode by episode. I truly enjoyed how everything came together and how the characters ended up in the end as it seemed very natural and not forced upon. Whenever there was a flashback, puzzle pieces were connecting in my brain and I found myself following along in hopes of guessing the ending before they revealed it haha.
-Acting-
Loved both the FL and the ML in this show and especially loved their chemistry. However, as many pointed out, the ML's acting wasn't top notch as some drama lovers expected. Nonetheless, I felt the ML's acting improved throughout the show and really portrayed his character well. Not only did the male lead portray his character well, but I'd like to shed some light on the actors of the fellow historians who I would like to thank for depicting and channeling their characters so well, that I constantly found myself laughing whenever they were all together, always finding something to get worked up about.

There are so many other things I could write about for this show and how lighthearted it was compared to other dramas but these were the main points that really hooked me into coming back each week for a new episode

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Historical and/or political drama are not necessarily my cup of tea, so I usually avoid these genres. I started watching this drama solely because of its popularity, a recent show, a romcom genre, and the ending. I surprised myself I binge-watched it in 3 days!

Like:
- Eye-catching front cover (see my comment on costume below)
- Straigth-forward story line, no plot twist, no shocking surprises, no betrayal. Secrets here and there revealed little by little like pieces of puzzles.
- Not dragging, no filler scenes or conversation.
- Perfect casting, every actor/actress fit their roles well.
- Great chemistry between ML and FL
- Some reviews/commentsI read about actress Shin Se Kyung, that she was bland or stiff in her role as FL. IMO she nailed it perfectly. Hae Ryung role is non-chalant and no-nonsense, which distinguished her with from most women in the drama Joseon Era. We can see her character intro in the beginning when she prefers to read a thriller novel to a group of women who prefer to hear romance instead.
- Some reviews/comments I read about actor Cha Eun Woo's bad acting skills especially in the beginning of the drama. IMO Prince Rim is supposed to be socially inept being confined all his life and only communicates with his subordinates whom have been with him for a long time. There should be a character growth for Prince Rim once he is introduced to outside world thru Hau Ryung, other historians, the French guy, the epidemic area, and Seoraewoon. and how the plot develops. Cha Eun Woo did an outstanding job acting the character transition. I actually cried when Prince Rim broke his heart due to the King's banning him writing romance novels and confiscated his writing tools.
- No love triangle (although there are potentials), so no Second Lead Syndrome
- Amazing friendship and family relationships, and loyalty.
- Happy ending for OTP and most other roles. No death.
- At some point of the drama, some roles become ambiguous , you will be uncertain if they are protagonist or antagonist. The ambiguity adds the spice.
- Beautiful cinematography
- Brilliant costume: I like they chose pastel colored costume for the OTP, symbolizes their delicate and sweet romance. Even the light blue color for the female historian uniform is distinguished from the male historian uniform.
- The OST is easy on the ear. Some notable songs are "My Dream" sung by Yoon Mi Rae, the queen of OST; "Come Here" sung by Lee Seok Hoon, and "Please Remember" sung by the ML Cha Eun Woo.

Dislike:
- I have not found any

Note:
- Probably should add a tag of noona romance, as ML is 20 and FL is 26. It does not seem a big deal in the story since their age gap is never opposed in the drama, and one arranged marriage candidate for ML is older than him (Sa Hee).

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This is a great “dramedy” period drama! The romance is cute and, although the romantic scenes could’ve been better, the lead couple had very good chemistry and their relationship evolved naturally. The story is about Goo Hae Ryung’s development as a historian, palace politics, secrets, and great character development all over. The cast did a great job bringing their characters to life and the supporting cast was equally important throughout the drama. This drama offers some action, cute and believable romance, tragedy, and great comedic moments that were strategically place throughout the plot balancing up the heaviness of palace antics and the main characters’ stories. It is really a good drama to watch. Enjoy it!

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This is not a historical drama, it's a 21st century workplace drama dressed up in period costume

Noble women drinking on the street with a bunch of men? Is this supposed to the late Joseon period? Moreover, Joseon women didn’t learn literary Chinese (which was used to write the sillok), they read and wrote in hangul. I really could go on …

I’ve probably given this drama a somewhat undeservedly low score, but this really isn’t a historical drama, it’s a 21st century workplace drama dressed up in period costume. As much as I tried to forgive that on account of the cuteness, ultimately, I found it frustrating to no end, hence the low rating.

BTW, ensuing rant on historical accuracy aside, I still probably wouldn’t give this drama higher than a 6.0 due to the completely unmemorable plot, generic romance, and cheesy presentation of the some of the themes. It's your typical mediocre fusion sageuk rom com with an extra dash of anachronistic feminism.

I’m REALLY not a stickler for historical accuracy. Sure, I’ll grumble a bit at premodern monarchs expressing anachronistically egalitarian ideals, and I’m not the biggest fan of cross-dressing plot lines (though there’s a fair amount of cross-dressing in premodern East Asian literature, so I probably shouldn’t complain). I make it a point to let everyone know that Mishil is a character drawn from the Hwarang segi, which is widely considered to be a 20th century forgery (there was a real document called the Hwarang segi, but there's no extant copy). But I still enjoyed those dramas and didn’t get too hung up on the inaccuracies. I loved Empress Ki, despite the fact that the writers completely invented a Goryeo king, drastically changed the life and character of Empress Ki, and didn't use Mongol hairstyles.

I recognize that there are legitimate reasons to take liberties with the facts for the sake of creating a good show, and that true historical accuracy is impossible and would often alienate the contemporary viewer. I know authenticity is not the aim of most dramas, but this drama just took it too far for me. If you want to make a drama about the issues women face in the contemporary workplace, great, go for it! But why would you set that drama in the late Joseon period, when noble women were largely confined to their homes? What’s the point about using a historical setting if you’re going to throw out half the elements of said historical setting? Shouldn't a Joseon drama be about the struggles of Joseon women? This is trying to be a very pro-women drama yet it completely disregards everything about the lives of the women who actually lived in this society. Most dramas are pretty inaccurate, but even fusion sageuks generally at least kinda try, or they find some somewhat legitimate (if very implausible) way to circumvent the rules. Rookie Historian just blatantly sticks their 100% modern women into the most restrictive period in Korean history and doesn’t even attempt to justify it. And, though certainly the most prevalent and blatant example, it's not just the female characters' behavior that is anachronistic. If you don’t want to make a period drama, don’t make a period drama. Otherwise, have at least a little respect for the history, ESPECIALLY if you’re going to make a show about historians, truth, and integrity. The subject matter of this show is quite ironic given how little regard it seems to have for history.

To end on a slightly positive note, I'll say that this is the first drama I've seen where I actually enjoyed Shin Se Kyung's performance, and Cha Eun Woo was rather charming.

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While it should probably be the characters or a plot that is the highlight of a drama, for me it was the visual aspects of the show. From the gorgeous costumes to the lush settings, or the close-up shots of brush work and the quality of the props, everything about the visuals in this drama were impeccable and thoroughly enjoyable to take in.

That being said, this drama is also strong in the character and plot departments. While there were a couple of minor characters that were annoying or felt flat here and there, overall the broad host of characters were well-developed and engaging, sometimes providing some fun comic relief. A couple of the episodes felt like an interesting side adventure that was deviating from the main story, but it all ties together in the end.

Though the first couple episodes really focus on the love story in a satisfying but pretty typical way, there are twists and challenges coming later on, and takes routes you might not expect. And while this is one of the main threads of the drama, there are also significant themes of political intrigue, the struggle for equality, the importance of history, and the power of knowledge, so don't skip over it thinking it's just a romance!

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No exaggeration. This is the best historical drama that I have ever watched. To be honest, I am not a fan of historical dramas though I love history but sometimes it really makes me bored. The last historical drama that I have watched that I only liked was Queen Seondeok. So, I will slice the review in all aspects.

Casting 10/10
Yes, I will give a high rating for the casts since everyone was an effective actors. I really felt all kind of emotions while watching this and that was because of the actors. They surely gave all their best in this drama. From Goo Hae Ryung to Sam-Bo to Min Ik-Pyeong. From the protagonists to antagonists to the supporting roles, they all mattered. Also, they're all perfect the roles and the chemistry, do I need to say more? 10/10

Story line 10/10
YES. I LOVE THE PLOT. I love the fact that they made Goo Hae-Ryung a brave woman who doesn't fear anyone even the king - not because she lacks respect but because she knows what she needs to fight for. I love how the story is fast paced but they made sure that the viewers will still follow. I love how the characters did not let the villain step on their dignity. It wasn't boring in fact the comedy part really made me laugh a lot. The drama was captivating. I must say that for me, the romance was just a bonus. I loved Cha Eun Woo with Shin Se-Kyung but I was really more focused with the political and all that kind of drama. But, the chemistry of these two, I must say they really made me smile! Salute to the writers of this drama!

Music 10/10
Even the songs in this drama contributed to my emotions. It also moved me and it really compliments the storyline.

Favorite Part (spoilers alert)
My favorite part was from the last episode, the banquet part. It really got exciting when Goo Jae-Kyung, Hae-Ryung's "brother" started to fight for justice by doing what he needs to do. When the historians fought for their rights (don't really wanna spoil how or what they did.) I also love the fact that the Crown Prince also fought for justice. Slowly, each officials pleaded the King as well, THAT REALLY MADE ME CRY. This banquet scene really is the best, all of the actors really showed their emotions and it also moved me.

I am so happy with the ending. I really love this drama and I must say that after Queen SeonDeok, no drama can change my mind. Rookie Historian Goo Hae-Ryung, aja! ♥

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" Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryu " started strongly, but lacked intensity.

The main character was interesting, first of all, and probably the highlight of the drama. Her story was entertaining and original, until they added that cliche twist in the end. The romance was kind of weak too, as the two didn't have much chemistry and the love story didn't have a smooth pace. They just had a moment and that was it? Still, this was Eun woo's best performance to date. He was confident and he handled the dramatic scenes better than his other drama's. The other performances were good too.

So, overall, six out of ten, because the drama got boring and predictable.

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