my ajumma notes

The show that brought me into the new year – mini time travel (by only two characters and going back just a year), spiced up with lots of greed, lots on family life, lots of love and a few murderous plots! Do-guk and Yi-joo Sung Hoon reprises his role as man with childhood trauma causing him sleep problems.  Here, it is Yi-joo (Jung Yoo-min) who has the eating problem, and he pours his heart into feeding her.  The larder he stocks for her… complete with dark chocolate Loacker!   Do-guk’s devotion in some ways mitigates how weirdly their relationship develops.  We don’t know till rather late why he loves her so much nor do we know why she loves him back in the end.   Nevertheless, they make a cute couple, look fantastic together, and show much resilience and determination as a pair.  Yoo-min (sometimes looking like Park Eun-bin !) acts much more strongly and her character development provides more room to showcase her skills. ...

The title has an airy, genial feel and the show does have its airy, genial side, but I also think of it as TRAPPED, since everyone was trapped by the past.   It was fun trying to figure out who was who, who was on whose side and how the awful king would fall.   The scholars It wasn’t too hard to guess that Kang San (Ryeo Un) is the deposed/missing prince and that he isn’t really gruff and disinterested although he’s exasperated and rolling his eyes most of the time.  Shi-yeol (Kang Hoon) has the best ‘disguise’, with the nice contrast between his highly-skilled fighting and loyalty versus his silliness.  It felt at times that Yoo-ha (Jung Gun-joo) was an extra but finally, he gets that one brave act of letting himself be captured to protect the rest.   Shi-yeol identifying himself to Kang San as his watchman was dramatic but the most shocking revelation in the show was that the Old Guy (Shi-yeol’s mentor) is the king’s watchman!  Ho...

It’s not easy to like a show where the acting and script are not always in top form, but I liked it! Beom-woo is a rather predictable character but Kang Ha-neul does a wonderful job being funny, silly, emotional, fed up and so on.  Never expected he'd fit comfortably in a comic role! On the other hand, Yeon-joo, played by Go Min-si, unfortunately is the weak link, mostly flat and boring in character development and delivery.  A saving grace is that she is pretty, and the two are a photogenic couple.  The secondary characters and cast easily outplayed her.  Kim Shin-rok is especially impressive as Myung-sook, who, like Beom-woo, comes across with her full range of emotions and expressions.  Choon-seung (played by Yoo Soo-bin ) and Yoo-jin (played by Bae Yoo-ram, who was forgettable in Run On but gets a much more interesting role here) are suitably funny and silly.   Mean mother Han (played by Oh Min-ae) is as mean as she was intended to...

Omo, I had no idea he was coming here!   photo from TikTok Im Siwan graced our shores last weekend and I missed it all, of course.  I would have liked to see him as well as his travel and food photos.  Must take note of his suggestions when/if I travel to Korea. He must have delighted and charmed everyone there, but why wasn't the interview done in English ? His interview here:

I’ve been off medical drama in any language and form since watching wonderful Bong Dal-hee but I knew Uhm Jung-hwa would make a show worth watching.  What I didn’t know was Kim Byung-chul (playing husband Seo In-ho) would make it doubly entertaining.  I also didn’t know that Jung-hwa survived thyroid cancer.  Wonderful to see her back at work and I hope she’s ok! Of course, we have the juxtaposition of life and death, courage and fear, desperation and hope, and Dr Cha smilingly evokes an overriding sense of positivity, even through her tears.  She is such an inspiring character – always looking forward, looking out for others and looking fantastic!  Jung-hwa more than ably played her role. Did I hate In-ho and his mum (played by Park Joon-geum) at the start.  So reliant on Jeong-suk and yet, so horrid and unreasonable.  I hated him for trying to control everyone’s lives, bossing his wife around and having that brainl...