Secret Garden (2010)

when i started watching dramas it was a year back..i had seen the name of this drama slip on and off on some blogs so i finally sat down to watch it..and..i was hooked..
this drama has the perfect blend of the romance and the melodramatic to give us the best of both worlds
the acting is top notch by Gil Ra Im being acted by Han Ji Won,the main protagonist being a blushing bride in front of oska and a witch in front of the Kim Joo Won,the protagonist..she is adorable..the same goes for Joo Won.though on the surface he comes of as a cold person but as the plot grows we see this guy really holding out his own.

on the romance level this is one of the best dramas out there.the sizzling chemistry between the leads makes us wna continue watching the drama throughout the day..when one is watching the two together its like thy'r gonna self combust with the intensity with which they love each other..they are like fire and ice.

the characters are realistic and true to life..hyun bin is amazing as Kim Joo Won..he is a flawed character which makes him more of a perfect man..the drama follows close on the fairytale formula that the koreans perfect in their various dramas.this drama has the perfect balance between the angst that the main leads have to go through..the whole gender bender makes it more interesting coz at the end we see that evrything has a reason.

the second lead have an equally amazing story behind their relationship.kim sa rang is amazing as the 2nd lead

the music score is one of the best i've heard so far in any drama.'That Man' being one of the best songs for me...
i rated the rewatch value high because this is one drama i can watch year after year never getting bored..so all those who havnt sampled this gem..go and find a new diamond in dramaland..:)

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WARNING: This review is coming from someone who wasn't that impressed after watching this.

Let's start by saying that this is the most overrated drama in the history of dramas. Besides switching bodies, everything else was pretty regular. Cliche poor girl, cliche arrogant douche bag but has a warm heart rich guy. Cliche obstacles for the lovers to overcome. While a lot of dramas are predictable, I found this one to be overly predictable. The drama did move at a nice pace, there really weren't any really slow parts, so I did like that about it. The chemistry between the two leads is really good. I did love the acting. The switching bodies part is absolutely hilarious. It was a good drama. I enjoyed it. Again, my main problem was that it was too predictable and too many cliches. No reason for me to watch it again because I already knew the whole story the first time I watched it lol. But Hyun Bin and Ha Ji Won are two of my favorites so I'm going to be generous in it's score lol.

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I am quite late to watching this drama, but it seems to have reached some sort of cult status, so I felt like I needed to tick it off my list. This show may be the most cliche and full of tropes drama I have watched to date - yet still enjoyed it for most parts. We have the rich and arrogant chaebol, poor humble girl, wicked evil mom, noble idiocy, fated/star-crossed love, tragic accident, amnesia...and more that I didn't list.

The storyline was not all that great. And they could have used the body-swapping with far more effect than they did, even though it created lots of humorous moments. That part was just a little messy. The main leads had a great chemistry together, which is probably what made this show work at all. Joo Won wasn't exactly romantic for more than half the drama. But his neurotic character was still somewhat charming even when he was being such a butthead to Ra Im. He was like a man-child that couldn't help himself from putting his foot in his mouth and being a jerk, but he was lucky he was cute. His character growth comes quite late in the series. Ra Im's character was disappointing sometimes because she's supposed to be this awesome stunt-woman with mad fighting skills, yet she's mostly meek and apologetic to everyone.
I will say that Hyun Bin did an amazing acting job - especially during the body swap scenes and the elevator scene. So, while the story was all over the map, the characters are what kept me watching until the end because the middle part was somewhat draggy and repetitive. The last few episodes were probably my favorite, even with the plot weirdness.

I doubt I'd ever re-watch this, but I'm glad that I watched it simply for the sake of understanding references to it. (and a little bit because Hyun Bin is pretty cute. LOL) Story-wise it is just mediocre, with some cute moments thrown in.

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OVERALL
Great drama that is absolutely not excellent, but no one cares. Watch if 1) You're looking for a first Korean Drama (was my first, and it's the best way to start), 2) You're looking for something hilarious, 3) You're looking for a good love story, 4) You like fairy-tale endings. Think twice if 1) You don't like fantasy elements, 2) You have low tolerance for screaming (one character only screams), 3) You don't like stories with many loopholes. I would still recommend it though.

THE STORY
Another switching-body plot? Another rich guy-poor girl story? Yeah, it's maybe not that interesting when you look at it this way. Plus, when you actually watch the show, you see that it is far from being the most coherent one out there. Lots of loopholes. But I didn't care, and I'm guessing, by how famous it got, that many didn't. The quality of the drama is not in the innovativeness or the coherence of the plot, but the absolute genius of the script. The comedy in this show is real Fun, with a capital F, each character is characterized by their own tag lines. The laughs are counterbalanced with some justified tears, and the tag lines are counterbalanced with a few pretty deep (sometimes too deep for my simple understanding) ones. The story is full of ups and downs, switching body, then back, then switch again; hate you, then not so much, then again, then like you; but what matters is that everything is so addicting that you can't possibly stop watching. The romantic scenes get really sweet and cute, the sad parts make you cry, the ending is magic. What is not to like about this drama? Sometimes imperfection is more than good enough, and that's exactly the case with Secret Garden.

THE ACTING
Fabulous acting from most actors, except Philip Lee, the action school director. The main actors are absolutely stunning. For the switching-body plot, actors bear all the responsibility; if they're not good enough it fails to work for the audience. But Hyunbin and Ha Jiwon were awesome. They had each other's roles down to the mannerisms and facial expressions. The chemistry was also pretty good between them. Yoon Sang Hyun as Oscar was pure gold, and other supportive actors did not fall short in acting.

THE MUSIC
Well, you had the odd song that just wasn't doing it for me (eg. You are my everything, Scar), but most of the rest was awsome. Half the OST ended up in my mp3, and I still listen to it every now and then. That woman, by Baek Jiyoung is probably in my list of favorite drama songs, and many instrumental tracks are quite good, including Secret Garden, My Darling Lime and Mystery Garden.

REWATCH VALUE
Rewatched. A gazillion times.

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At first I was a bit reserved about this drama. I watched about 3 episodes and I was like:”What is this? Seems so boring...Should I continue it?” You might think the same,but you should continue because it’s totally worth it.

Story:

The story has it’s ups & downs, it’s good and very good points. It stirs your curiosity and sometimes makes your heart skip a beat! (for real!!) It will literally punch you with funny moments, blow some cute immature romance and then *BOOM* it will make your heart ache with some melo-drama. This whole story is like a perfect chocolate cake recipe with a little bitterness to make it better. Even though it has a lot of cliches, such as a poor girl and a rich guy’s impossible love, an angry mother who wants the best for her only son, some other girl who wants to ruin their love-story. To this mix are sprinkled some strong characters with tangled personallities and dramatic life stories which will make you fall in love with from the start!

Acting/Cast:

The acting was so good that it gave me the feeling that the whole thing was real! Espeacially at the sad scenes, they cried so naturally that it made me want to wipe their tears through the screen. Some other scenes that get my brownie points are the fighting scenes. Just pure action! Sometimes I thought that Jackie Chan might be the producer or he might show up to teach the stunt crew from Action School. (Still got hope until the end,haha.)

Music:
The OSTs of this drama perfectly matched the storyline and the emotion of some crucial moments. Even the lyrics matched what actually the characters should have said to each other, that is because sometimes music can express more than simple words can do.

Overall:
I really enjoyed watching this drama. Had a lot of fun along with the silly yet complicated love-story and also cried in anger when the character struggled and faced tough situations. No matter if it’s a book, a movie or a drama I try to understand the story, the hidden ethics behind its cover. From this drama I learned how to be polite and sometimes cry from Gil Ra Im, how to not give in even if it’s hard and be strong from Kim Joo Won, how not to forget that the future is based on past decisions from Choi Woo Young and how to be loyal to the one I love from Yoon Seul.

In conclusion,I don’t really know what the director or those who wrote the script were thinking but they did a wonderful job! No wonder it has such high rating. It’s a must watch! I promise you that you won’t regret watching it!

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So far so much gas-lighting

This show has so much gas-lighting, mental and emotional abuse and implied violence that I'm curious why I'm persisting but I'll see it through to find out how they redeem the situation. A narcissistic, privileged guy exploits his wealth and position to stalk and harass a woman apparently well below his class, and refuses to take no for an answer. There's no concept of consent and even when they briefly swap bodies it brings no understanding or empathy.
I'm not sure if I'm supposed to feel sorry for the poor rich guy and his toxic family but he's basically just a selfish asshole.
Maybe in the remaining episodes he'll redeem himself like Lord Darcy in Pride and Prejudice but that would require some major plot gymnastics.

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Toxic Masculinity, Toxic Relationship...Toxic Show?

Before I begin, I just want to say that I did enjoy this show. I laughed out loud at some parts and let my jaw hang open in shock at others.

Now, to the important stuff.

I am a Media Arts major and therefore study things like toxic masculinity in film. The traditional hand grabbing and passionate kissing without consent are unfortunately common themes in film and Kdramas. Still, if you are used to watching some of the more modern stuff that's turned away from some of these things, this one will churn your feminist blood.

During the time this show was produced, bad boys were all the rage and it was a norm to see a man shove a girl up against a wall on screen in a dominant way. Toxic masculinity is all about presenting men in such an aggressive or powerful way that we unfortunately expect—resulting in harm to men themselves as well as women.

I'll try not to bore you. Basically what I am describing to you is the harm that's presented in Secret Garden. Once again, things are changing as we become more aware of this toxicity, but it is true nonetheless that this show is full of tropes that should make you uncomfortable. You should not agree with the things the main male character does in his relationships with not only the girl he likes, but also with some others.

There is a part in the show (without spoiling anything) where a man kisses a woman suddenly and she smacks him, saying, "I didn't give you permission!" I laughed out loud because consent is so important and completely forgotten throughout the entire show.

If you have ever been in such a toxic relationship, this show could be harmful to you as the relationship is hardly uplifting aside from small moments and the last few episodes. It takes a "hate to love" relationship to a ridiculous level, despite the growth the characters still go through. At the end of the day, it is still presenting a toxic relationship as a positive and happy one.

But okay, yes. I did enjoy this show to some extent. It was fun and even sweet at times, but I wish someone had told me beforehand how toxic it was. I definitely wouldn't recommend it to most people—despite its wide cinematic influence in Korea. The show itself is not toxic I don't believe, but when there are such things presented, it can be toxic to somebody.

I hope this is helpful! My rewatch value is my entertainment value. I am also grateful to all the work that was put into the making of this drama so we could watch and learn from it. Because I definitely learned some things!

Cheers!

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I liked this but it's flawed in how it progresses the story, in that it doesn't really do that. Things happen to keep things moving but they don't really change anything to an extent. Any story growth is artifical. The body swapping story is actually really hilarious and the actors involve do a superb job at conveying the comedic elements of it. Although Han Ji-Won does a much better job at matching Hyun-Bin's Joo-won than Hyun-Bin does her character, Ra-Im. Hyun-Bin opts for a generic girl rather than what her character actually is but it's amusing all the same. However, the problem lies, just as it does in all other body swapping shows, they end it far too early and they return to it once too many and I just stop caring. Yoon Sang-Hyun's Oska was a treat to watch but his plot wasn't interesting and Kim Sa-rang didn't hold up her performance. She was flat the whole time.

Hyun-Bin's characters tend to be complete pricks, which he is good at doing (so good that he's mostly type casted as one when he has range) and his character is defitely toxic but I totally get his plight. He is unsure of his true feelings and it would be reckless of him to throw away his career and very being to be with a women that he has a connection with but doesn't fully love, yet. His hesitation and confliction was one of the strongest aspects of Secret Garden for me.

Also one of my favourite scenes is the scene where Im Ah-young (Yoo In-Na) brings her "best friend" to a dinner date set up by Joo-Wan, only for it not to be Ra-Im but someone who we've barely being introduced. Hyun-Bin's reactions are genuinely one of the most funniest things I've seen from a Korean TV Series.

Comedy is on point. The characters are all good but the story lets it down in the end.

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so Over the top but so good!

I have just rewatched this drama (probably the third time) and I still enjoy this despite all the tropes and numerous flaws of this drama. I mean it’s 14 years old already. since then all the actors have evolved but it’s a nice beginner drama to watch. everything is in there. the star crossed lovers caught in the everlasting social ladder, the “I give you money and you disappear”, the poor girl wearing very expensive brands, the continuity problems. I mean what a feast. I still can’t get over the cheesy soundtrack.
I don’t think you would do a drama this way nowadays but 10 years ago, totally. So to conclude an oldie but goodie. you just have to be in the right mood for it!

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There's no doubt that this is one of the best K-dramas around. And there are many reviews that will say the same. But this review is my thought about it. And nothing more.

I loved the cast. They were great. Each and every one of them played their characters as perfect and real as they could. Hyung Bin & Ha ji won both are one of the most talented actors around. And they played there roles perfectly.
Specially in the body switching parts. Hyung Bin just stole the spot light for me at that moment. He was so funny. Specially his expressions. They were gold.

This is the only drama, I've so far with the most amazing OST. Each and every song had a reason. They were somehow part of the story. And they were so beautiful, that you just have to love it.

I loved the story. Well some of it. The only thing I didn't like was the switching. It wasn't necessary. It would had been an amazing drama even without. The switching - which most people were expecting, and it was funny - had little to none with story. In my eyes, it didn't do anything with the characters development.
Even saying that I loved the scenes. The actors were the reason.
And then the ending.

Overall it was an amazing drama. A great watch. It's full of fun stuff and moments. That's the reason it gets an overall 10 in my review and a place in my favorite drama list.

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