I am not so opposed to watching k-dramas in general (unlike k-pop), being a maniacal fan of Winter Sonata back in 2002. I also loved Autumn in My Heart (2000), My Love Patzzi (2002), Princess Hours a.k.a. Goong (2006) and Coffee Prince (2007).The only thing I disliked about them was the fact that almost all of them were pretty draggy towards the end, and usually involved the main characters dying or fatally/permanently injured in some way.

Since I came back from Wen Hui's house last week, I've been crazily chasing downloading and watching the Korean drama "Secret Garden" (refer to previous post for the reason why). With the exception of Wednesday, I've spent almost all my time watching all 20 episodes as fast as possible, and finally reached the final episode last night.

TV Show: Secret Garden
Genre: Romance, comedy, fantasy, melodrama
Episodes: 20
Broadcast period: 13 Nov 2010 - 16 Jan 2011

Synopsis (from Drama Wiki):
The drama tells the story of Kim Joo Won (Hyun Bin), an arrogant and eccentric CEO who maintains the image of seeming perfection, and Gil Ra Im (Ha Ji Won), a poor and humble stuntwoman whose beauty and body are the object of envy amongst top actresses. Their accidental meeting, when Joo Won mistakes Ra Im for actress Park Chae Rin, marks the beginning of a tense, bickering relationship, through which Joo Won tries to hide a growing attraction to Ra Im that both confuses and disturbs him. To complicate matters further, a strange sequence of events results in them swapping bodies.

So basically it's rich guy meets poor girl, he falls in love with her, she beats him up often enough to keep him coming back. Throw in the twist that after drinking some suspicious liquor, they swap bodies whenever it rains. Then she gets fatally injured in an accident, and he tries to exchange souls in order to save her. Standard issue plot, but I have to admit, Hyun Bin was awesome in the soul-switching scenes. :D

You know what? I absolutely LOVE this drama because:

1. Nobody dies in the end.
2. It's happily ever after for everybody (basically).
3. It's not an open-ended conclusion.
4. The actors/actresses are pretty good-looking. (Like, duh!)
5. I am not obsessed with it after finishing the drama.

Speaking of  open-ended conclusions, I am strongly reminded of My Love Patzzi, Goong and Princess Hours. Seriously, I felt like whacking the writer(s) for ending those dramas like that. I am still waiting for the sequel to Coffee Prince. *crossed arms + sideways glare + tapping foot*


So..... I'll just end this post with the two main characters. :) 

Hyun Bin as Kim Joo Won

Ha Ji Won as Gil Ra Im

P/S: Don't forget to watch Big Bang's parody of this drama here!