Secret Garden (2010)

i rarely like the show. i'm very picky and impatient so i can't stand situations where it stretches for too long. but Secret Garden was a big surprise. story, acting, cast, music... everything's perfect. there's funny and sad moments... so funny you can burst out from laughter and so sad that you're eyes get swollen.
yes, i really liked this drama, it can satisfy even a very picky person, such as me.
when i read that there was a body switch i thought "ah, every episode will be just confusions till the end, better not watch it". but then i watched few ep, and BooM i was totally surprised.
so, it is must watch drama. if you don't watch it you'll die. :D

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Secret Garden? AMAZING! I was hesitant about watching this drama at first because I thought the name Secret Garden sounded strange, but was I completely wrong alright!

The storyline is so creative, this drama has everything in it, it made me smile and laugh but it also made me cry so much! The acting is absolutely incredible, I love Hyun Bin so much! His acting was just so good, he's so talented. The chemistry between the two characters was good, and its so funny when the two are together. I was very pleased with the ending, unlike other dramas I have watched, however after watching it I could not get over this drama! Took me about a month for me to calm back down before I could watch any other dramas because I just kept watching Secret Garden MVs!

If you haven't watched this yet then please do. You will love it as much as I love it.

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Secret Garden es un gran dorama.

Secret Garden es un gran dorama.
Si bien es cierto que la producción a nivel visual (a nivel de efectos) tal vez no es la mejor, lo compensa con creces en otros aspectos. La historia no es compleja y tampoco tiene una gran ambición, pero si te gusta el romance es uno de los mejores que he visto en series. Mezcla la comedia con el drama de una forma equilibrada y, lo más importante, es una historia con alma, que te hará sentir con los personajes y las situaciones que viven.
Las actuaciones están perfectas, sobre todo los dos protagonistas, pero los secundarios tampoco lo hacen nada mal. El guión también destaca, es un guión inteligente, sin diálogos prefabricados y que de verdad caracteriza a cada personaje. La música es sensacional, de las mejores que he escuchado en doramas.
Por último, quiero destacar que la protagonista no siga los estereotipos estúpidos de muchos personajes femeninos de series asiáticas.

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Unexpectedly, Secret Garden is quite entertaining. Sure, the story and the romance wasn't the best of the best, and the performances were so so, but still I can understand why this drama is so popular. First of all, the drama is about a rich, cynical CEO who meets a poor stand woman who gets his interest. Their lives get even more complicated, when they magically change bodies. Okay, the magic part wasn't that good. It was a little childish at first, but it had a not-that-great explanation in the end. And the body exchange was very entertaining the first time, but the second time was just uncomfortable. The main male character was very funny, due to his character, and in the end, that was the only thing supporting the drama. For me, the twenty episodes were a bit too much; the story could have easily finish at the sixteenth or the eighteenth episode, and still, it would have been as good, as the final episode was a quick wrap up, mixed up with a few concert songs, some flash backs and family life moments. So, 6 out of 10.

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Secret Garden is the second drama I ever watched. It quite literally saved the genre for me. Before Secret Garden all I had watched was Boys Over Flowers and while I enjoyed that drama in its own way Secret Garden showed me that korean television could be more than just a meme. I can't believe it's been almost two years since I watched it but I still remember the feelings I had watching it. To me it was perfect. Not perfect in the way that it was beyond improvement or fault but perfect in how it everything came together in just the right way every time.

First let me talk about the plot. I know many people have issues with the body swap trope, but I loved it. It moved the romance along in a quick and organic way while adding humor to an otherwise sometimes slow plot. The swaps were silly and cute. I'll never forget how confused they both were or Joo Won's constant consternation about Ra Im's love for OSKA while trapped in his body. The times the plot was slow were fitting and beautiful though. The romance was built up slowly and naturally. I believed their love story fully. It was so refreshing to see JooWon be the one that head over heels for Ra Im. So often the girl pines after our male drama lead for the entire show until he grows an emotion and admits his love, but not Joo Won. Joo Won was smitten. Remembering it makes me happy. His silly antics and ridiculous posturing (the tracksuits and situps and distraction poem) were all so cute and endearing. Even the love triangle was less annoying than the usual fair. The plot, for all its twists and turns and random supernatural rules, was cute and straightforward. They love each other. It's that simple.

As for the characters what more can I say? Gil Ra Im was nothing short of amazing. She is a total badass but also very feminine and vulnerable. Perhaps my favorite thing about her is how focused she is on her career aspirations throughout the entire drama. She wants to achieve greatness in her field, to prove to Jong Soo that she is a stunt woman in her own right. And she succeeds. She is damn good at her job and everyone but her knew it all along. I also love how this is one of the major reasons Joo Won loves her. He is not intimidated by her in any way. He thinks shes fantastic despite her rough edges. Speaking of Joo Won I love how imperfect he is. He has it all yet he's bored and broken inside. While Ra Im definitely helps him through it all, in the end he takes care of his own issues. He overcomes his pain and trauma on his own and it shows his personal growth through his love for Ra Im. They both grow so much throughout the show and it's all due to their love for each other. Of course no discussion of Secret Garden is complete without OSKA. What a ridiculous human being. I love him. Any time the plot got slow or the romance seemed about to fizzle out Woo Yeong came to the rescue. The way he antagonized Joo Won and craved Ra Im's approval was so great. The fact that the body swap had the funniest effects on him also helped with his personality development; he went from hopeless washed up pop star to supportive family member and hardworking idol. His love interest and tortured history with her also added to his character as he became more than just a gag character. He was perhaps the most well rounded character on the show.

The side characters were also a great addition to the show as a whole. Yoo In Na is my favorite actress in dramaland. Knowing her better now than I did when I watched Secret Garden I really appreciate how great this role was for her career. She was her usual sweet self and i loved how excentric Ah Young was. Phillip Lee was also a huge win on this show. He was broody and moody and his hair was pantene commercial worthy. His character acted as the third of our love triangle but not even that could ruin him for me. As one final note let's talk about Tae Seon. First of all good on Secret Garden for making a gay character that was more than his sexuality (or for making a gay character at all. Korea is notoriously bad with gay anything so this was huge). Second can we talk about how cute he was?? Lee Jong Suk really played this character so well. I cried for Tae Seon but was also so happy for him.

Overall Secret Garden was a great experience for me. The show is the reason I continued to watch kdramas and I'm so happy I saw it. It is one of only two shows that has a perfect 10 rating from me and it deserves every bit of it. The show is a kdrama classic and it truly deserves the title.

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This Drama is most memorable for the amazing OST, Hyun Bin sparkly Jersey's and that red shoe.
what I loved about this drama is the solid cast and their performances, the lead actress is a surprising lead, you don't expect to see such a female character in K Drama, not appealing nor eye candy nor weak and vulnerable.
Hyun Bin as a lead was a brilliant choice, he played the character so well that I loved all of his scenes, every other cast member was outstanding as well.
the story is fun, heartwarming and heartbreaking as well, it remained attractive and had some unexpected twists, especially in terms of "Progression" of relationship between the lead couple and Hyun Bin and his cousin, the singer.
I don't care for the lead actress Ha Ji Won that much but she won me over.

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