Hello everyone, and welcome to the summary of all the drama reviews that you can find on the blog! I hope you find the drama you were looking for, and if not I hope you'll discover a new one! You can always leave suggestions in the comments or on my social media pages (view menu on the left of the page).

A

Andante (KOR) Genres: Comedy, Romance, Youth, Drama & Melodrama. 16/20

H

He Is Psychometric (KOR) Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Comedy, Romance, Drama & Fantasy. 19.5/20

I

Itaewon Class (KOR) Genres: Friendship, Food, Life, Romance, Drama & Business. 16/20

M

Mr. Heart (KOR) Genres: Boys Love, Romance, School, Youth & Sports. 17/20

My Name (KOR) Genres: Action, Thriller, Crime. 17,5/20

N

Navillera (KOR) Genres: Friendship, Life, Drama, Family, Dance. 19/20

S

Squid Game (KOR) Genres: Action, Thriller, Mystery, Drama 16,5/20

Strongest Deliveryman (KOR) Genres: Friendship, Business, Comedy, Romance, Life & Youth. 17/20

W

Wish You (KOR) Genres: Boys Love, Music, Romance & Drama. 15/20

~ Mr. Heart ~

~ 17/20 ~

Korean Title: 미스터 하트

English Title: Mr. Heart

Country: South Korea

Director: Park Sun Jae

Screenwriter: Unknown

Genres: Boys Love, Romance, School, Youth, Sports

Episodes: 8

Aired: Sep. 18^th, 2020 – Oct. 2^nd, 2020

Original Network: Viki

Duration: 11min per episode

Where to watch: Viki, Dramacool (attention to ads), YouTube 

Main Cast:

• Lee Se Jin as Go Sang Ha
• Cheon Seung Ho as Jin Won

Supporting Cast:

• Lara as Hyo Ri
• Yoo Jang Young as Coach Bong
• Park Geon Rak as the loan shark

Brief Resume:

This Kdrama tells the story of a marathon runner, Jin Won, whose ultimate goal is to break the record he set when he was in high school. However, he doesn’t seem to be in a good shape as he doesn’t sleep well due to stress, and doesn’t really have anything that motivates him as it did back in high school. Seeing that Jin Won has trouble keeping his pace during the whole race, Coach Bong decides to hire a pacemaker named Go Sang Ha. As we discover our joyful pacemaker, we realize that he’s the complete opposite of Jin Won. He’s good at sprinting and short distance running, and he’s always cheerful despite not being in a comfortable situation like his senior. Reluctant at first, Jin Won begins to appreciate Sangha’s company and their relationship will eventually take a new turn.

My Opinion:

For those of you who have never watched BLs before, this one is a good way to start. Even though it’s really short (there isn’t much time to develop an intrigue with plot twists and stuff) and that the budget is the minimum required to be qualified as decent, we really get attached to our two main characters. In just eight episodes, we get to know each one of them, their motivations in life, and we witness them getting closer without it being too much. Their relationship doesn't evolve a lot because of time constraints, but when they're together on screen they're just too cute. 

Although the famous rich/poor is again making its comeback, this time it is presented in a more realistic way. When we learn that Jin Won comes from a rich family, he still wants to live his own life and does not take everything for granted (while any other "rich" character in a drama would take everything for granted). And when Sang Ha is struggling, he's trying to find solutions, while other poor characters in other dramas would just stand there waiting for a miracle to happen.  

The only thing I will nitpick on is the loan shark character. One thing I loved about this drama is that it’s very simple and realistic, but this character is the only unrealistic thing that sort of ruins the mood. I also wished the drama was longer, but we're getting here, South Korea is slowly opening its doors to BL dramas. 

Conclusion

Albeit its short amount of episodes and the lack of character development, this Boys Love is a good way to discover the genre and to lighten up your mood with a refreshing and simple story. I won't recommend it if you're avid of complex stories, plot twists and love triangles, otherwise this one's a good refresher. 

That's it guys! If you have already seen the drama feel free to comment down below what you have thought about it, and if you haven't seen it yet I hope this review made you want to see it.

Take care and I'll see you all very soon!

Love, Swan

~ JI CHANG WOOK ~

Who is Ji Chang Wook

Ji Chang Wook, born on July 5^th 1987, is a South-Korean actor. He studied at Dankook University and majored in theater and film before beginning his career in musical theatre. He starred in movies such as” How to use guys with secret tips” (2013), “The Long Way Home” (2015), and “Fabricated City” (2017). However, he’s most known for his roles in the dramas “Healer” (2014-2015) for which he received the popularity award and the best couple award (with actress Park Min Young) at the 2014 KBS drama awards, “Suspicious partner” (2017), “Melting me softly” (2019) and “Backstreet rookie” (2020). He enlisted in the military on August 14^th, 2017 and was discharged on April 27^th, 2019. You can follow him on his official Instagram account @jichangwook.

Pre-military

Let's talk about maybe my favorite K-drama of all time: Healer. I cannot count how many times I’ve re-watched this drama and always enjoyed it like it was the first time. Everything about it is so good. Healer is an action and romance drama that tells the story of a young man Seo Jung-Hu (a.k.a Healer, played by JCW) who does the job of "messenger", completing missions that are more or less legal with the help of his acolyte "Ahjumma", an old woman who's always in her PJs and eating in front of her computer, but most importantly who's an expert in hacking. With his top-notch fighting skills and high-tech equipment, he accomplishes the missions his clients give him against money. One day, he receives the mission to watch over a girl, Chae Young-Sin (Park Min-Young), a reporter from a second-rank tabloid who's inspiring to become a famous journalist just like her idol Kim Mun-Ho (Yoo Ji-Tae). JCW shines best in this role. He's badass, sexy and conveys the story of Jung-hu so well. The character he plays seems so fierce and strong, but the more we get into the story the more we realise he's just a human with his own story. Plus, the romance he has with Young-Sin is really sincere. To me at least it didn't appear as fake like in Melting me softly. If I had to recommend you one of his dramas it'd be this one. Action, drama, comedy, romance, you'll be really moved. 

Another drama of his I also liked was "Suspicious partner" where JCW plays the role of a prosecutor and Nam Ji-Hyun the role of a prosecutor trainee. They will work together on a mysterious case involving a psychopath murderer. They will eventually fall in love too. I like the romance less than in Healer and the end is a bit messy, but the "mystery" and "action" aspects of the story is what makes, in my opinion, this drama a nice one. 

The K2 was a bit too much to handle for me, the story was really gloomy and weird for me and so were the characters, but if you like these things go for it, it's really well-done, it's just not my cup of tea.

Post-military

Honestly, I feel like the roles he’s been picking (or getting, I don’t know if his agency chooses the roles he’ll play or if he has 100% freedom of choosing) since he's back from the military don’t do him justice. Let’s take Melting me softly, his first role after his discharge from the military. “Melting me softly” is about a professor who’s been working on a revolutionary project. But to prove its efficiency, two people have to volunteer. Ma Dong-Chan (JCW) and Ko Mi-Ran end up “volunteering”. But instead of being frozen for 24 hours in a capsule, they spend 20 years in that capsule and end up waking up by some miracle. Problem is, if their body exceeds 31 degrees Celsius and if their heart rate increases too much, they’ll die. Also, the only person to know the solution to this is the professor at the origin of the project who now lost his memory. The story had some potential, but I think what made it hard to get into was the characters. Mi Ran’s character is really foolish and dull. There’s nothing exciting about her personality. And oh my god let’s not talk about this professor. The moment he reappears 20 years after he’s so… stupid. Maybe it’s because the actor isn’t good but he’s over-acting everything and that led me not to trust his behavior and his words. Maybe the only well-done characters (aside from Ma Dong Chan) are the assistant of the professor and Ma Dong Chan’s ex-girlfriend.

I haven't seen backstreet rookie yet, but I've seen glimpses of it and I feel like it's going to be the same as Melting me softly: A pointless and dumb romance with weird characters and a not-so-interesting plot. 

To put it in a nutshell, I think what suits JCW the most is action dramas with a side romance, like not the romance being the whole point of the story. Maybe it's because he looks strong and fierce that I find him better at action/mystery dramas, I don't really know. Looks like his next drama will be another romance one, hopefully I won't be disappointed by the story. The drama is called "Lovestruck in the City" and is said to premiere sometime this month. Chang Wook will play the role of an overly passionate architect who loves city streets, and Kim Ji Won will play the role of a freelance marketer. 

That's it guys, I hope you enjoyed the article and that you'll check JCW's work if you still haven't. Take care and I'll see you soon!

Love, Swan