Cheongdamdong Alice (2012)

WOW! There is just so much to this drama that I may forget something. I found the concept of making fun of the clichéd parts of drama that make the stories repeat. It was funny, but dramatic at the same time. Which is prolly y I was so interested in seeing what would happen next.

The main actors did such a good job that I was kinda floored. Being able to be funny & dramatic at the same time is hard to do. The balance is a difficult one to create.

There was one person that I was just floored by her behavior was Shin In Hwa. She was just evil. No excuses for her behavior at all. I can't stand ppl that r manipulative like that. The one thing that I loved was that despite all her evil actions not a single person acted the way she wanted them too....LOL! There were so many words that I used to describe this character, but I can't post them here b/c they r rly not nice.

Now the lovely male lead...LOL! I loved his crazy. He killed me by showing us his crazy in very peculiar ways. I enjoyed his attempts to change reality w/ all his planned scenarios. He totally brought his fantasy world to life or at least tried to. It was rly interesting. I was rly happy that he proved to be a stronger person than they all thought, but I also realize he wouldn't have been stronger if he had not met Han Se Kyung. There is only so much I can write about w/o telling everything.

NOW! Han Se Kyung OMG what a character. I loved her, she was so smart, & not once did she end up doing something stupid. I hate it in drama's when they make the female lead do stupid crap that is so out of character. It just throws the whole drama off. Gratefully to the writers, this did not happen. She maintained her characters positive qualities throughout the drama. I personally don't think she did anything bad, but w/e! Moon Geun Young did an amazing job in this role. I can't wait to see what she does for her next drama.

All the supporting roles in this drama just added to the story. I did not feel that any 1 of them was unnecessary. I enjoyed the cuteness & seriousness of those characters while watching them. They did an excellent job in their roles & gave the drama a rly good feeling.

I think drama lovers will rly enjoy watching this drama. It gives off more than just a romantic comedy feel. I don't think that any drama lover would be disappointed while watching this. ENJOY!~)

Leggi di Più

This show only caught my interest because of the so called reference with Alice in Wonderland. Despite the latter being disappointingly minor, I was drawn by the story. It's really refreshing in an overall perspective. The common character of the poor girl decides to turn tables and try to climb her way up by a mean that isn't noble. Bless! I would hate to see another victim drag herself through the drama (like the usual). What I love the most about this show is that not a single character is 100% good and that makes it real. Everyone has their mistakes and crosses to bear, everyone is kinda seeking for ways to make it up for the crap they've done, everyone screws up at some point and everyone has their chance to turn things around.

Sekyung is dull sometimes but she's interesting; she's tough despite her huge (and kinda scary) puppy eyes, she knows what she wants and is willing to get it, she doesn't beat around the bush too much. Jean Thierry has a few phases to go through but he's hilarious and I enjoyed him a lot. The charming guy also gets boring in all these romantic comedies out there. As for the others, I have no particular remarks to make. Good acting, good presence, no major fails.

Generally speaking, this show started out okay, got great and then it dropped in my attention scale drastically. Around the decisive episodes it gets really, really boring and that's why I gave it a 7. It could score higher if things didn't get as slow as they did. The storyline is good though and it has a great potential so I hope a new drama comes up with a better way to explore the theme.

Leggi di Più

although, many would expect this drama to be shallow, mainly about the pursuit of a design career, with a bit of 'devil wears prada' kind of world.. it does give lessons and messages about life, fortune, love, honesty, ambition and greed. Even reality, although yes, this is a drama where most things are a far cry from reality.

Moreover, personally this drama was an emotional rollercoaster. at times i was clutching to my stomach ROTFLing, at other times i was sobbing my eyes out.

Also, I liked the blurry line between villain and friend. the main villain at the end is oneself because of the obstacles they themselves have created, through their mistakes and choices. Even though that made me scream at the screen telling them to "Kumanheee" (stop it), i did understand the reasons they did what they did and the pain they felt doing it.

All in all, i think this drama was awesome. definitely a must watch. I don't know why i myself watched it so late

Leggi di Più

The drama is awsome bc it's a cute romantic comedy though there are some part that is a little melanchony. It makes u love the ex boyfriend, and u also love the CEO guy bc he is so cute with his craziness, and u have got to love his doctor friend who knows everything n the only one who seems so normal in the drama.
i love the drama bc it made me so giddy inside bc of how cute it is, though it also made me cry when i see the scene with se kyung and her boyfirned. bc they love each other but they cant be together no matter how hard they try bc of money, tat part made me sad bc tat's where reality come in.
ppl who love cute, touching, and some eyecandy just have to watch this drama. the music sound really good and go really well with the drama. so i assure u tat u wont regret watching this drama

Leggi di Più

A drama that tried to make us feel bad for gold diggers. At times it worked and at times it didn't.

But it did make me think a lot.

I am glad I watched this drama, despite its many flaws. It was not a regrettable desicion. I will tell you the reasons for that in detail. I also binge watched it. And that can be blamed on the intriguing story, my curiosty for the ending, hero's cute smile, and the ost that people found ordinary. (Something ought to be wrong with me.)

STORY

This is a modern day Alice in a Wonderland. Wonderland is Cheongdamdong and Alice is Han Se Kyung. She is looking for a White Rabbit to take her into the world of Cheongdamdong.

Han se kyun is a middle class woman who cant afford fashionable clothes but aspires to be a designer. She always got good grades in school and college, won many contests, but because she couldnt afford to cover herself with expensive clothes and accessories, and lacked overseas education, she couldn't find a proper designer job and instead runs errands at her job. A series of incidents happen that makes her turn from a nice innocent 'Candy' girl to a woman who wants to marry a rich man and change her life: a gold digger, to be precise. Her hopelessness and disappointment in the world causes her to change.

Our hero, Seung Jo, is a guy who always has an (adorable) wide smile but he has some mental issues and seeks therapy. Mainly due to women in his life having only used him before, and his broken relation with his father. He sees heroine as a nice innocent woman.

WHAT I THINK

I think this drama said a lot of stuff that isn't said out loud. Or isn't supposed to be said out loud.

Is there a love in the world that is 100% pure? A person's personality, looks, family background etc. do we love only one among these or all of them, when loving a person?

Love isn't always enough. Or is it?

It also talked about how hard it is to succeed in life when you dont have your inborn (wealthy background) advantage. It talked about the discrimination against the poor background, and all the advantages the rich have, including the ones they don't even realise they have.

I understood a lot of this drama, agreed with somethings while disgreed with others.

CAST AND CHARACTERS

Han Se Kyung was not an easy person to like. I felt bad for her in the beginning, then hated her, then felt bad for her again, and then I didn't know what I felt anymore. Her character was not good or bad, it was what it was.

She didnt know exactly what she wanted. She want to be dark but she also felt bad for it. However she admitted all her darkness. It was hard to watch her. She was clever beyong words. If I met a person like her in real life, I would be very cautious. She even made Seung Jo feel as if he had been wrong or bad. But the guy had been nothing but nice? (Even if somewhat stupid at times.)

Moon Geun Young, the actress who played Han Se Kyung didn't have a variety of facial expressions, and her stylist really showed that Han Se Kyung was poor. But I was more focused on the story (and Seung Jo's, Park Shi Ho's adorable smile), so I didn't care much.

Coming to Seung Jo, I don't think I have seen a more cute character. Actor Park Shi Ho was perfect for this. He portrayed the immature character of Seung Jo brilliantly. He had this bright smile on and he ran to meet the heroine.

Seung Jo was immature, joked around nearly all the time, was one of the reason I kept watching this drama. However nice guys are the scariest when they are not 'nice' anymore. Seung Jo was like that too. I found him really scary when for just a few moments, he was a nice guy who had been hurt.

Seung Jo was naive in many matters of life. He let himself be played around with, let people use him, and even apologised to those who had hurt him. He changed as much as Han Se Kyung by the end of the drama, but not like Han Se Kyung. I believe he deserved better.

Coming to other characters, Soo Yoon Jo, the woman who had used Seung Jo before. I didn't really understand her character. What did she want and what was she doing? It seemed she had made a mistake she terribly regretted.

And Tommy Hong, I wished we could see more of him. His past and future. But we didn't. He was just a supporting character.

HUMOR

Yes, there is comedy in it, although not much. And it's HILARIOUS at times! All credits are attributed Park Shi Ho's character Seung Jo and his secretary with his weirdly dramatized comical expressions. I liked them.

MUSIC

The osts were another reasons I kept watching this. Daddy Long Legs (female version) and Love Like This were the best! Check out their translations too.

OVERALL

Looking at it, this drama was realistic in many ways and also addressed the stuff no drama ever talks about. Take for example the dialogue, "Why in a drama the heroine is interested in everything in a hero except his wealth?"

There were flaws. Many. Moon Geun Young's acting, the lack of a good chemistry, the hero's stupidity or naivety at times, heroine's frustrating character traits etc.

But there are other things too. It's definitely worth a watch, even when its frustrating and angsty and imperfect. Because it's thought-provoking. You will find yourself questioning many things and viewing the world a little differently.

I liked the ending too. I will rewatch this after a long time when I can see it with fresh eyes. Right now I can't bring myself to watch anything else, because my mind is still stuck on this drama.

Leggi di Più

Dragged on too long but still cute (:

Whilst I loved watching this Drama I felt like it could have ended several episodes earlier. It had an amnesia feel to it, just to make it last several more episodes.

For a drama produced in 2012 and watching it in 2021 I actually did not find this drama dated as I do with some older dramas. The plot was very solid until the end where it felt very dragged out and problems arose that were not really realistic for this drama. I do love a rich man/ poor woman drama and this falls into this category completely. A lovely rom com to watch if you have the time, maybe jsut gloss over the last episodes as it kind of dwindles.

I adored Cha Seung Jo and his quirky nature, he was adorable as Park Shi Hoo did an amazing portrayal of a goofy and lovable man. Moon Geun Young was also a very good actress and portrayed the female lead well.

The music in this drama I found quite amusing at times. I recognised quite a few songs that were popular around the release of this drama. They used good songs to show the more goofy side of Cha Seung Jo.

I rated the rewatch value pretty low as I normally don not watch a drama twice, as most of my reviews shows this.

Even if have not watched this and are worried if it dated, I would still give this drama a shot. :)

Leggi di Più

I think this drama deserves a higher rating than what it got here on MDL.

It's not perfect, and I found the male lead's acting to be over the top especially when he's trying to portray immaturity, he looks childish instead.

But I admire the writer for the story premise - it is grounded in reality where life doesn't end after the couple kisses, where not all endings are happy, and that people are not just black or white: there is always gray in all of us.

I also like how they threw shade at drama tropes, particularly the over used plot of a candy girl loving the rich man with absolutely no interest in his wealth.

Leggi di Più

Contrast: Moon Geun Young's realistic portrayal and Park Shi Hoo's over the top acting

This drama really started great with laying out the story of Han Se Kyung, from her job, her determination, her lover of 6 years portrayed by Nam Goong Min, the break-up, the pain, the discrimination, and her frustration at everything. In the middle, it was funny and kind of cute, though the "over-the-top" acting was being sold by almost everyone, it was still pretty nice and the comedic timing was there. After it hit the climax, we see changing of characters and some heartwarming moments, however, it felt like I was only waiting for the secret to be revealed, and when it was revealed, the reactions and choices of every character was surprising and unprecedented, showing that the writer had a strong idea in her mind. However, closing to the end, though it was wrapped up nicely, I didn't feel like it achieved its selling point of the "social divide" and love, though of course, it was there in the dialogues if we will analyze. Nevertheless, it has a dark story that tried to incorporate both the elements of comedy and melodrama and it was a good watch.

For the acting, I've always thought Park Shi Hoo was "over-the-top", he's not bad, he can deliver emotions and has comedic timing and was funny here, but the delivery of emotions always felt "acting" for me, maybe it was his facial expressions. I've watched him though in My Golden Life and his emotional moments were fairly good though he still had the "over-the-top" acting. For Moon Geun Young, I believe she was the only one who acted naturally in this drama, she bore the sadness and guilt of Han Se Kyung and it showed. Her expressions when we reached half of the drama was depressing and mellow, if we are going to draw comparisons over positive Park Shi Hoo's acting and character, of course, it would felt like she "underperformed", but I watch differently, she acted her character and lived with her misery, it was the scripts and director's fault for not being able to balance the comedy and melodrama elements. Still, it was a good drama with an indeed "dark" message and despite selling it as a rom-com, it was a melodrama.

My favorite parts of the drama were the first three episodes with Nam Goong Min, who I loved his beautiful scenes with Moon Geun Young, the craziness of Park Shi Hoo's character, the sincere events that follow Kim Ji Seok and Moon Geun Young when their characters decided to help one another and lastly, the moment where Moon Geun Young's character despite her guilt and conscience haunting her and people are stopping her to put her in the so-called "right place", accepted Park Shi Hoo's proposal in the middle of the night while snowing and Park Shi Hoo's character lifted her up—smiling, laughing and giggling at their bliss of happiness.

Overall, a good watch.

Leggi di Più

Honestly speaking I am not so happy with the drama... My hopes were high as I watched both leads in other dramas... Story was very well written and plot was mature but FL was very immature with her acting and looks and the way she speaks it sounds like hiss and she ruined most beautiful written dialogues... I think she was worst choice for a drama like this... A very sensitive topic was raised... It is about our visions and lives... Our parents want us to follow them knowing the fact that we have other ambitions in life and how childern deal with it was something that was fantastically portrayed by ML... His acting and dialogue delivery was commendable... I thought to drop the drama 16 times but he and second Female lead somehow managed to grabbed me tightly... If you still feel like a child and you can't potray adult world then you shouldn't try something mature... Female lead killed the character and I failed to enjoy such well knitted plot... All and all it was not a very good experience to watch it... I wasted my 16 hours as she was so bad in her acting and her chemistry was zero with the male lead... Kisses were worst and romantic scene were like High school romance...

Leggi di Più

Interesting start then went downhill

This drama seemed interesting at first and I did like some parts, but as it progressed it seemed to lack substance. It failed in my opinion to delve deeper into its main message.

I was excited about this drama at first, simply because of PSH. I had seen some of his other works and decided to check this one out. I have to say, that the eccentric and over-the-top character type, doesn't suit him well in my opinion. On the other hand, MGY's character really grabbed my attention in the beginning. Here we have a capable and hardworking woman trying to find a good position in a company but being passed over because she can't compete with those that have connections and a higher social standing that gives them an advantage. Something that she can't achieve just by working hard. Here she is met with the dilemma of wanting to succeed in life by her own merit, but also wanting to grab every opportunity even if it seems unethical. She starts walking a fine line between those two.

My major problem with this drama is that it made the MGY struggles seem shallow. Not only that, I found her acting to be a little too expressionless, (opening your eyes as wide as you can is not a catch-all for every emotion you're trying to depict) something that I have noticed in some of her other works as well. I don't think it matched the male lead's personality and just made him seem even crazier at times. This only made the romance seemed a bit bland for me. I just could not see the chemistry between the leads.

Leggi di Più