Cheongdamdong Alice (2012)

Story: This drama has a rather 'dark' message. It is about how the society is biased - biased against those who are not born into the right family. The main character is a woman who believes that through hard work, she could make it in life. Despite being really good in her studies and a hardworker, she was constantly side-lined because she did not graduate from an overseas University and she is practically a nobody. After suffering a long and turbulent relationship with a man who comes from the same background as hers, she learned that the only way to the top is through connections and by snatching a rich husband. Hence, begun her Alice in Wonderland-like story. This story is a look at "the other side of the coin". It is easy for us to hate gold-diggers and call them names, but this story brings you the 'justification' why certain women became gold-diggers. At the end of it all, you'll find yourself cheering for the woman to succeed in snaring a rich husband and agreeing to all of her rationale for doing so. This is why, this drama has a 'dark' side to it. Younger viewers watch with care. You need not be a gold-digger to succeed in life. Heck - Tommy Hong (in the drama) did it and he did not marry a rich wife! One just need to be smart and not a straight arrow.

Acting/Cast: I was really excited for the drama when it first started showing but the biggest disappointment, unfortunately, is the acting. There is hardly any chemistry between the male and female leads. Hello! This is supposed to be a romantic love drama - not "let's have a big brotherly and sisterly hug and a very polite kiss and call that a chemistry" drama! I know that there are many ppl out there who likes MGY and thinks of her as a great actress but I am not one of them. I knew long ago, that she has her limitations in acting and for some reason, I do not consider her a beauty. Her acting in this drama is the worst so far. The male lead, PSH, was a saving grace with his ability to act childish at one moment and dead serious at another. He has proven that he is a versatile actor. Unfortunately, even he could not manufacture that sort of romantic chemistry with the "sad or happy-fake-smile-only" MGY. The drama could benefit from getting an older and more versatile actress. The other casts did great, but the extreme lack of chemistry between the leads killed it for me.

Music: The music is passable.

Rewatch value: For me, the first time is the last time. Glad I finished it, but don't think I would be re-watching it.

Overall: Passable entertainment. The IDEA of the story is interesting and has great potential but the lack of chemistry between the leads killed it.

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Cheongdamdong Alice's synopsis was really interesting, topped with Park Shi Hoo, was a must see for me. When I started watching, it proved to be quite a disapointment for me.

Story: Well the basic story was interesting and different, but the writer didnt add much substance to it, I mean how can you stretch a story line which is good for about 10 episodes to 16, it kept going round and round endlessly. The main story was mild but the side stories were quite boring.

Acting: Park Shi Hoo was perfect as always, like most of his other dramas he does steal the show. Probably if it wasnt for his acting this drama would have been a disaster. He plays the cute and nutty character wonderfully as does he with the more serious role of the same character. The female lead I felt was not the right choice. I didnt much care for her acting, and mosty she has a blank and bland expression. Sadly another basic thing which was lacking was the chemistry. That was very lukewarm, rather cold actually.

Verdict: Nothing addictive about this one. If you are a PSH fan, then I guess you have to watch it. Others if you have time and nothing else to watch then give it a go but dont expect it to be like other PSH dramas.

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Story: Hmm... What kind of bunny should I raise up for this drama's story? I never really bought in to the idea of such a shallow place like Cheongdamdong, where getting a job depends on your fashion sense. At the beginning I thought, "who am I kidding? this is too shallow". Who would've thought that there would be some kinda lesson hidden within all that. It rarely occurs in dramaland any more. Usually, by the end of a drama, you're just happy that all is well, main leads are together, happy ending. But I was never really convinced that there was a lesson behind it. This drama is an exception, you might not think so during the middle, but by the end, you'd totally understand.

It's not your typical drama with a "Candy" female lead(which the drama was never ashamed of pointing out). Instead we finally get a realistic girl who does not love a man only for himself but also for his money. I know, right? Finally! Yes, those "Candy" girls are amazing creatures, but do they exist? Nope. Of course, there was some disadvantages to this along the way. Such as there was always this risk of disliking the female lead, which is definitely not a good sign. There were moments, when I wanted to throw my angry bunnies at her (which I can't, since apparently, they don't sell it *raises sad bunny*. Heads' up producers!). It's constantly at risk of turning to hate, but every time, the character manages to impress me. Whether from not running away as expected, or turning her boss to school. It was a love-hate thing. But I definitely loved her more times than hate though.

I like that this couple balances each other out. The drama's plot would lead us to believe that he's saving the girl with his money but really, she's helping him differentiate what's real and not. Also, she's helping him mend his broken relationship with his dad.

I considered giving this drama a 9 because of the ending, but when I look at back at some moments, I just scratched my head, so that's what kept me. I disliked how throughout the series, we're basically just waiting for the ball to drop. We know it's gonna happen, and hate that it's going to. It would've been great if they got that out of the way earlier. That way, I wouldn't have to brace for the impact throughout the drama, cowering down in fear of seeing poor Seung Jo hurt. This drama was far from unpredictable. But I do have to commend that there was really no villains, when there was, the conflict created by that villain didn't really drag for long.

There was tons of heartfelt moments, and I think it all added up to the "goods" of the drama, the reason why it far outweighs the "bad". The relationship of Daddy Cha and Seung Jo was just so awkwardly cute. It's the first time I've like an this much in-law in a while. I was actually surprised to care sooo much about the other characters besides the main couple. Despite characters that you could so easily hate, you understand their decisions, that they're just in the wrong path, and want them to come out of that tunnel.

Acting: If we're talking about acting and this drama, Park Shi Hoo should be the first name mentioned. He was all over this drama, all with his dorky self and his "kamsa" (gratitude). Really, I was just wishing for the girl to just throw him a bone here and give him tons of those. He carried most of the comedy by himself. I'm kinda worried for my next drama now, since having a Siwon and a Park Shi Hoo acting all goofy in my last two dramas would set the bar high. Next k-drama hero, you have a huge expectation to up-hold!

I was a bit disappointed with Moon Geun Young. She was good and she made me cry (as usual), but I was expecting a lot more. Throughout her performance, I was seeing shades of the awesome to come or the awesome she did in Cinderella's Sister, but instead I just kept thinking, "MOAR please". Maybe I set the bar too high, since she's that awesome since CS, but, she is capable of better. I was thinking if it was the character. Which, admittedly, was a bit dull, doesn't quite match up to Seung Jo's quirky self. That when they're in a scene together, you literally can see the light coming out of Seung Jo while on Se Kyung's side, it's all gloom. Or whether it's her acting, I can't figure it out. Those loving looks Moon Geun Young gives though, makes me swoon a bit. In this drama, she still didn't fail to bring in the chemistry despite the age gap (which never really occurred to me). Yeah, I'm bettin' it was the role. Maybe I'm biased, but turn around and, "SHHHHH".

I was pleasantly surprised by So Yi Hyun's performance. From watching Heartstrings, she was just 'downer ballerina' to me, who I wanted off my screen ASAP. But here, I totally believe her. When her world was in the midst of crushing down, her fear when realization hit, everything about it, made me root for her. I sincerely wanted her to get her own happy ending. Kim Ji Suk... MY GOD. I didn't like him in PT (didn't really find him that handsome), but wow... he's smart and sexy here. You've made a fan. Now, where's your own drama?

What kept me from giving the acting a ten, was Kim Yoo Ri. She wasn't good, not even near serviceable. She tries to too act cool, and fails, which kept her from giving the character any depth, with 'jealousy' tattooed all over her face. It doesn't help that her character was the epitome of predictable and every other villain we see in dramaland.

Music: I thought it fit the scenes. I gave it a 9 probably because of my bias for the song "Daddy Long Legs" by Baek Ah Yeon. Every single time it plays, I just swoon. And pair that up with a romantic scene, I'm a goner. The fact that the lyrics are subbed as well helps, it's just lovely.

Rewatch Value: There was a lot of cute couple scenes, so maybe rewatching snippets of those would be nice. But I don't really see the point of rewatching the whole thing. With this drama, you just want to know what would happen next, how would the characters turn out, but if you already know those, it would probably be boring.

Overall: Stand-out acting by (most of) the cast. Very surprising lesson at the end, with tons of heartwarming scenes by characters you care about and coupled with an amazing OST, I dearly recommend this drama. Yes, it can be predictable, but that's not really the strength of this drama. It relies on its characters, their reactions, and the acting. I'd gladly raise a happy bunny for this drama. And... PARK SHI HOO PARK SHI HOO PARK SHI HOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

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I didn't like how this drama began, nor did I like how it progressed, but I can say that the ending at least wasn't awful like I was expecting.

Story,
This is not your usual romantic comedy in any way whatsoever, the story is very different from your average "cinderalla" type story, and I think that you will either love it or hate it. The good thing about it is if you're looking for something different and out of the norm for this genre then you hit the right spot.

Acting,
I personally, could not stand the main actress and found that she really just ruined this for me. Part of it was her bad acting and the other part was me just hating her character and how she was. I think the actors that really brought it together for me was Park Shi Hoo, Kim Ji Suk, and Park Kwang hyun, but the rest of the cast I can't really say I was too fond of.

Overall,

Give it a shot, I can't necessarily say to stay away from this drama or say it is something you MUST WATCH, read through the reviews and choose for yourself. (Although you should definitely skip over the reviews that haven't even seen 16/16 episodes)

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"This drama is nothing new. This drama is nothing revolutionary." I tend to write that a lot in my reviews, and I think that's probably because I have a niche and I don't venture out of it. Cheongdamdong Alice is not a drama I can say that for. This was a twist on the Cinderella story, in that Cinderella isn't really all that likable half the time. I want to try and objectively review this before I get into personal reasons why I wasn't fond of this.

The acting was pretty amazing, especially by Park Shi Hoo. He was just a delight to watch for the majority of the show. Moon Geun Young was not bad either, and the supporting cast did a fairly good job as well. This isn't your average boy meets girl story, and it will have you questioning what makes a good person and what it means to love someone. Storyline wise, there were some stumbles and the pacing was a little funny at times. But all in all, it was a good drama, and I don't feel like I wasted my time watching it.

Now, for the subjective part. I HATE books, stories, movies,dramas that involve a major lie. They make me extremely uncomfortable, like I am just constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop. The synopsis I read forever ago when they had first announced the drama made no mention that it was about a girl lying her way into the upperclass or I don't think I'd have started it.

If I were to break down the thought process I had for the episodes:
1 and 2 - Why is everyone crying all of the time? Is this a romcom or melodrama?
3 - So it IS a romcom. Park Shi Hoo, I need to have your babies.
4 through 7 - Seriously, Park Shi hoo, can I have your babies?? Also, Han Se Kyung stop being such a b***h.
8 through 13 - Why does everyone make such bad choices???
14 through 16 - I am ready for this drama to be done already.

I think the problem was that I hated Se Kyung too much to really get into this drama. Seung Jo was like a lost little puppy, and all along I felt like she was just kicking him over and over again, even if he didn't know about it yet. I understand her motives, I cann appreciate her gumption. But Seung Jo was such a good-hearted guy, I hated her.

All in all, it is definitely a watchable drama, just be prepared for a crap ton of lying and worrying about when the truth will finally come out. And if nothing else, at least watch this drama for Seung Jo's dance scene in episode 3 :p

Side note: Not that this drama had a love triangle in it at all, but will Kim Ji Suk ever get a drama where he gets the girl in the end??

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The only reason I picked this drama up was because my friend was swaying a pitchfork over it, yelling about unlikable characters and odd plot. Which of course, at least in my head, sounded like a hint about a very different story than what's actually written in summary.

Let's begin with the plot then.

Han Se is not an usual Candy, in fact, she makes fun of that very role. There is no naivety of poor girl meets rich guy in this drama, because it's quite harsh on every character that entered that kind of a world, and the plot nearly goes into parody of that usual kind of a tale. Which once again, I applaud, it was nice to watch something that has a good length of interest for once. I also like the major bitchslap line over the arranged marriages between rich people vs. gold-diggers.

PSH is hilarious! With his first scene, gone was my idea of cold and indifferent CEO that barks all the time, because the fella he played as was a complete flower child, WITH FLAWS, and some angsty elements. Moving on, while I do think that MGY looks quite childish next to PSH, both of their acting covered that, and I found myself enjoying all of their scenes. The chemistry was present right up until the romantic moments...where it would get awkward. They were missing the spark, but the normal scenes pulled them out a tiny bit.

SYH was great, her character is very dramatic and grounded, I just found it odd how often she was teary eyed at everything, but I suppose it does go with the story. KJS was interesting enough, I wish I could see him in a main role somewhere, perhaps? He is deserving of it.

I really like the soundtrack, but there was some thriller music which was weirdly placed into scenes, to the point that you would expect a ghost to jump out from some angle... I think they would've been better off with more dramatic music? Not hey hi Leatherface, honey?

The refreshing take on the usual plot makes it somewhat worth of rewatching, but not any time soon. And even more so, it's mostly because of earlier episodes, where PSH basks in comedy light and his antics are very lovable to watch.

Summed up, this drama is a 7.5 for me. While I am satisfied with the lead acting and the interesting writing which made the entire show a pleasure to watch, I am disappointed with the amount of clichés the writers have sneaked in (oh yes, there are quite a few) and numerous scenes of supporting characters that I felt were a hassle to watch...in fact, from episode 9 and up, the drama started dragging itself and being a bit boring. I also dislike the way it ended, especially the let down in Han See's character, I really wanted a complete black line for her, but they kept her too pure for the full impact of her role.

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Well I really liked this drama at first, very cute different and tells you a tale of lessons something you could all learn from. However I don't know if anyone else felt like this but the last few episodes was very painful to watch. In the end I really hated the lead character to be honest. I can't really say why maybe it was my current mood? I can understand why she had to do it but by the end i just found her plain shallow ad i dont think she deserved him at all. I'm not sure if anyone else felt this way but i just couldn't bare to watch them and as i predicted she got the maN IN the end ( no duh?)

acting was brillant. Story was great. Music was great. rewatch value I am not sure if i would watch it again maybe up to like 13? beyond that it will probley be too painful again

I am curious to know if anyone else felt this way? Leave me a message if you did?

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The fact that I adore Moon Geun Young and Park Shi Hoo, in addition to being a romcom made Cheondamdong Alice a must watch for me…

Story: The first couple eps were a bit funny and there was a good paced plot but shortly before the half way mark the plot kind of fizzles and everything became slow paced causing me to push myself to finish an episode. Even though most romcoms don’t have a plot, they will push the laughs for entertainment purposes but this one didn’t even have that. The ending was nice at least.

Acting/Cast: MGY and PSH were amazing as expected. However, I think the writers could have written Se Kyung better because her flat character didn’t give MGY very much to work with expressionwise. I don’t think its her fault because her character was too intense and she was able to service that. I liked all the supporting characters but once again Kim Ji Suk failed to make his second lead stand out. I just wanted to add that chemistrywise, I didn’t feel that intensity between the leads. It might be that MGY looked like a kid the entire drama to me.

Music: I liked most of the songs and will be downloading them to my ipod=)

Rewatch: I didn’t really care about the OTP, the boring story, and the fact I skipped 4 eps the first time doesn’t make this something Ill be torturing myself to watch again.

Overall I really don’t recommend this even if you’re the biggest fans of the leads cause its just a waste of time.

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The main reason I watched this drama was because of the leads. I absolutely adore Moon Geun-young and Park Shi-hoo is one of my all time favorite actors after watching The Princess' Man.

The first 2 episodes were a bit boring but I was glad the drama started improving. Episodes 3-6 were hilarious and fun to watch but it all just started going downhill from there. I think it had to do with the fact that the later episodes weren't as comedic, which I think was the only reason I liked the drama. I just started to get bored to the point where I skipped most of the scenes and read the recaps to see what I missed.

I was a bit disappointed by Moon Geun-young's acting here. Usually, she's amazing but I was really annoyed by her here, though it might also be because Se-kyung was just such an annoying character. Park Shi-hoo was great but his character annoyed the hell out of me as well. Cha Seung-jo is funny and all but he's kinda kookoo. So Yi-hyun, in my opinion, delivered the best performance. I never liked her before but watching this drama completely changed my opinion of her. As for Kim Ji-suk and the one who plays Yoon-joo's sister-in-law, they didn't really do anything to stand out.

The music was amazing. I love all of the songs and I listen to them about a hundred times a day despite me not liking the drama that much.

I wouldn't recommend this drama to anyone. It wasn't horrible but it wasn't that good either, so I think it's better for you to not waste your time.

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I will try to make it simple.

I didn't quite like it at first but Park Shi Hoo made up my mind and the others characters I didn't know if I liked them or hated but then I realized they were kind of real, not all dark and not 100% innocent and this is great! Well, I didn't see so many dramas but I think there wasn't cliches in this one.

Acting: I still don't like the main character Se Kyung and I don't know if it's becuase the actress or what the writers did to her, she was always with a 'poker face' and we can count how many times she smiled. But Park Shi Hoo (he was adorable even mad), Kim Ji Suk (he was kind of invisible in the in the beginning), So Yi Hyun were great and I can't forget Park Kwang Hyun and Choi Sung Joon even if they were just "supporting roles"

I loved the soundtrack, it was always in compatible with the moment. I wouldn't watch this again but if you're thinking about if you should watch it or not I guess it's worth a shot.

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I'm not the kind of person that likes romantic comedies, but this is an exception!!! This drama takes all the romantic comedy cliches and turns them upside down. I love the concept that we all live in a world with our eyes half closed so that even as we see reality, we can still dream. This isn't just true about love and money. This drama made me laugh and cry...yes, cry. Something I rarely do while watching a drama. Some melodramas can't keep me as emotionally invested as this romantic comedy did.

Park Shi Hoo as Seung Jo totally blew me away. He was funny and just too cute at times, but when it was time for him to be serious it was flawless. When he cried it could be heart wrenching. Moon Geun Young as Se Kyung was also great. Her character was sweet and caring, hard and strong, insecure and scared, confident and secure. She portrayed everything and shows that there are different sides to everyone. Will Kim Ji Suk ever be the male lead in a drama??? He does so well as Tommy Hong, but I want him to be in a drama where he gets the girl!!! At first I really thought I might end up hating Yoon Joo played by So Yi Hyun, but I really ended with understanding and found her character redeemable. I totally hated In Hwa played by Kim Yoo Ri. She is just hateful for no reason. It isn't like she was in love and wanted to get the guy. I get those characters. She was just ticked off because she "lost" to some one that she felt was beneath her. bbbrrr She gives me the heebee jeebees. The other secondary characters were good also.

The music was good. You should totally check out the OST Love Like This by K.Will. It is awesome.

I would totally rewatch this in a heartbeat. I think that all romantic comedy lovers would enjoy this drama...even those that don't usually like that genre can appreciate this drama.

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