---> SMILE DONG HAE

Broadcast period: 2010-Oct-04 to 2011-May-13

Short Synopsis: Dong Hae was born and raised in America by his mentally deficient mother Anna Laker. His father is a man he has never met and known only to him as “James”. He came to korea to compete in a sporting event and to meet up with his girlfriend. A series of unfortunate incidents happened and now he found himself betrayed, heartbroken and facing a complete career change to make a living. Soon, he met a good woman to love and met people that will forever change his life.

A month ago, I asked the friend who hardsubbed this drama @SD-AD.net, a.k.a. “The Site”, to tell me if downloading and watching this 159episode drama is worth my time. Unfortunately for me, I only got to read his reply to my message weeks after and by that time, 70+episodes are already safely downloaded on my lappy and I have already seen half of it *Orz* still, im glad he was able to warn me of what to expect… when watching dramas, “forewarned is forearmed” is always good for my sanity^^ I always want to know in advance what im up against^^
*credit uploader "kimsik4"

Actually, I got interested in this drama ‘coz I saw some episodes of it in a hotel room in Taipei earlier this year. I kinda liked the cast and saw a good number of people from “The Site” are requesting for Smile Donghae. Must be good I thought, besides, it got some pretty decent ratings, awesome ratings in fact! Now that I’ve seen half of this drama, I know exactly why it was a hit with the general public(in Korea). It’s the winning mix of evil villains, the poor unfortunate hero/heroine, revenge, hatred, lies, secrets, and of course, the cliffhangers in every episode. Why those kind of stories, situations and characters appeals to the drama viewing populace is beyond my comprehension which makes me ask myself, why the h*ll do I consider myself a drama afficionado when i expect common sense, rationality and logic in dramas when I know for a fact that they are practically non-existent in most soap opera *Orz* forgive me people, clearly, the problem lies with me ;)

Haaay... *exhale* … I hate to admit this, but, my patience was defeated by this drama *Orz* im ashamed to admit this ‘coz this is only the 2nd drama that I could not bring myself/force myself to finish. Based on my tract record, I really, really thought I would/could finish this drama no matter what but, the final straw for me was when i took a peek at the last episode. It was a happy ending for the leads alright but my sense of justice was horrified at what happened to the villains. *no spoilers* I had to stop ‘coz I was seriously afraid I would go bald from pulling my hair out of frustration, trying to make sense of the scenes and situations im watching onscreen. Characters unnecessarily making a fool of themselves or choosing to make life difficult by making mountains out of molehills episode after episode after episode is, I have to admit, too much for me to watch. I could have stretched my patience had this drama been a little shorter BUT, 159episodes is uber much of a sacrifice for me, I wouldn’t/couldn’t do it even if the pope himself promise to canonize me for sainthood in the event of my death as a reward for my patience ^^

Nevertheless, asian drama fans all over the world, you don’t have to take the same route that I took, please go ahead and watch this if youre the type that likes those long running American/Mexican soap operas and the likes ‘coz Smile Donghae is definitely of the same mold. you have to please take note that Smile Donghae was NUMERO UNO(number 1) in the ratings for the longest time so most people will say there's nothing at all wrong with it and its me and my tastes who's got a problem *Orz* As for me, im looking for the next drama to watch, I haven’t seen a good one lately so here’s hoping and praying that the new year will bring great asian dramas for 2012. Until then, im leaving you with an MV starring the main love pair of this drama, watch it please for I’m positive you’ll like what you’ll see …

*credit uploader "wangshouyu"

---> BROTHER BEAT

Broadcast period: 2005-Oct-13 to 2005-Dec-22

The Story and the Script: Tatsuya, Riku and Junpei. 3 brothers who lost their father at a very young age. They were left in the care of their young mother whose growth may have stunted when their father died. Don’t think that this is an uber heavy melodrama you’re about to watch. It’s a light family drama with a little bit of everything thrown in. there’s laughter and romance and of course tears. Like most doramas that I’ve seen, this one is well-written and heartwarming without trying too hard ^^ despite the name-calling and fist-fights between the brothers, oh and of the mom too believe it or not^^ coupled with their “fond rudeness” to their mother, lies a deep love and respect for each other. What can I say, if it’s a dorama… more often than not, don’t take it too seriously.
The Director, Storytelling, Pacing: no need to expound on this too much ‘coz unless it’s a really bad production, doramas being 11episode max is usually paced just about right and this production is no exception. Kudos to the director for giving us an entertaining production.

The Casts and Characters: Tamayama Tetsuji as Sakurai Tatsuya, is the responsible eldest brother who always consider what their father would think in every decision he makes for himself and for the family. Hayami Mokomichi as Sakurai Riku, yes peeps, Mr. "Absolute Boyfriend" himself, is the free-spirited and charming middle child that is always at odds with his older brother. Nakao Akiyoshi as Sakurai Junpei, the youngest, has developed into a very able homemaker(because he had no choice!) thanks in part to their mother, Tanaka Misako as Sakurai Harue, who seems to have lost the inclination to keep house and whose maturity seems to have halted when her husband died. They are an unconventional, or is it more appropriate to call them dysfunctional... well whatever... my point is there’s a very good chance you’ll fall in love with this family inspite of and despite the chaos in their household.^^

Among all the characters though, I have a bit of a problem with the “pride’less” Chisato played by Kuninaka Ryoko. If you have read any of my previous posts, this should’nt be a surprise to you. you guessed right if you think I would slap some sense into her if I knew her in real life and I’ll very likely kick Tetsuya in his shins too if I know him ^^ Chisato, Chisato, don’t let a guy know that your world revolves around him alone, that he is everything to and for you, that in your eyes the sun rises and sets with only thoughts of him in your head… while that is completely pathetic, I understand that “it’s hard to battle with one’s emotions” ^^ BUT puleeez, under no circumstances should you let him know that you are THAT pathetic, *ORZ* otherwise, he will take you for granted and walk all over you… which is exactly what he did. Haaay, you should take a leaf out of Ai’s book, she’s my girl in this drama, knows how to handle “difficult” men like Riku without loosing herself completely. Ai was played by actress Asami Reina.

The Eye and Ear Candy: the eye and ear candy is suppose to be the cinematography and musical score… and what do I have to say about this… nothing extraordinary on both subjects! Who needs ‘em, isn’t Hayami Mokomichi enough of an eye candy for you guys? Hehe… to me he is! I heard his mom is a Filipina, so, no need to ask where his looks came from… the mom, of course! ^^ Seriously, he is a handsome devil and kawaii all rolled into one ^^


The Ending: I love that they opted to feature the traditional Japanese wedding ^^ its good for the international audience like moi to be exposed to the uniqueness of other cultures. The way Riku’s character had evolved and how he turned out is a welcome twist and definitely sentimentally heart warming ^^ Tetsuya and Chisato, figuring out where they had gone wrong is nicely resolved too. Unfortunately, im a bit concerned with Junpei and the pregnant girl… there is a veeery fine line between love and feeling sorry for someone. Pity is an emotion that is often mistaken for something else. Thank goodness this is just drama and not real life.

Rants: not a lot to complain about in this production except for one maybe… the first time Tatsuya suddenly wanting to date Chisato in the earlier episodes is waaay too “put-on” for me to be anything but believable! Im like… “what the heck is that!!!” He now all of a sudden, “likes” her??? Didn’t see that coming from any of the scenes shown before that. Mr Director, if you’re gonna go there in that direction, please give some hints of some kind of an attraction first, okie? What I saw was feeling sorry for her, it seems more like it! Not that I don’t like her, in fact, she has the prettiest face in this drama… haaay, if only she would loose the eye glasses…*ORZ*

Raves: ladies and gentlemen, please allow this shallow fangirl to give an eardrum beating cyber-scream for a japanese god named Hayami Mokomichi, WAAAAAAAAAA… ok, I’m going to zip-it now ^^

---> WHAT'S UP FOX

Broadcast period: 2006-Sep-20 to 2006-Nov-09

Another OLD drama to review ‘coz frankly, im quite out-of-touch with the newer dramas these days. That shouldn’t be too much of a problem since it’s a drama that is worth the watch^^

A May-December affair that started with an accident. No, its not the kind of accident you have in mind but more like those that happens when one is in a drunken stupor and the other has a bad case of raging hormones^^ anyway, what made it exiciting is that it is the woman who is older in this case and the guy just happens to be the dongsaeng(younger sibling) of her feisty bestfriend. Should I also add that SHE and her best friend have been friends for sooo long that SHE was even there when HE was born? So for them to get together is almost incestuous isn’t it? And yet, I wasn’t put off by it, nor did I feel scandalized while watching it… not the tiniest bit repulsed by it actually***oh my, when you read further you'll discover i spoke too soon*** In fact, I was most of the time tickled pink by their struggles and was rooting for them to get together even if common sense and social norms dictates that she’s better off with the other guy. Haay, that other guy is afflicted with the “nice guy syndrome”, in the end, their kind never gets the girl T__T

The SHE/HER in this case is Ko Hyun Jung as Ko Byung Hee and the HE/HIM/HIS is Chun Jung Myung as Park Chul Su. So, to make it a little bit easier for me to do this review, lemme continue to refer to them as SHE and HE. No worries, I’ll make sure you will not be lost in the process^^

I was so sure that “the second look”, or is it “an afterthought” they both gave each other… SHE, when she first met the busty secretary in his workplace and HE, when the doctor picked her up in his garage, is quite meaningful and the start of trouble, the kind of trouble that makes life more exciting^^ but, I was wrong. In HIS case trouble started when… shhhh, I better zip it with the spoilers. there’s also this very important fact that both of them have in common that I wouldn’t reveal in this review ‘coz I wouldn’t want to take away some of the pleasure and excitement it will give you when you discover it yourself.

HE is sooo kyopta(cute) in episode 7, in that motorbike accident scene and she was overly worried and again a little later when they were having ramyun(noodles), OhMyGod, he was dashing and handsome in Cinderella Sister BUT he is sooo adorable here with a capital A specially when HE is in a jealous/sulky mood! didn’t I just almost fell off my chair when He sooo bravely and defiantly declared “this is the woman I love” to his supposedly busty girlfriend, I was thinking… I have never been attracted to guys younger than me, much less 9 years younger than me and yet I would absolutely understand why some women would feel flattered and loose their heads if they are confronted with these type of guys… YES, I totally get it ^^

After a few days of sulking… feeling s*ht and down and depressed after being rejected… HE came out of his room and even shared a few light moments with his “noona”. You’d think he realized, him and his noona, its not gonna happen and that it’s the start of the healing process for him… well, this is a drama ladies and gentlemen so… of course its not that easy and simple! Not by a long shot! You know how young people are, they are stubborn, they think using their overactive hormones instead of their brains. And of course I’m glad HE didn’t give up, otherwise i wouldn’t be able to see that scene when he drove his motorbike beside the car SHE was riding… aaahhh, sometimes, I really have to hand it to these Korean drama directors/writers, they can make your heart flutter with the most cheesiest scenes such as that one and there are tons of those kind of scenes here ^^ well, not unless you’re the conservative/prude type, then you would most probably be repulsed and disgusted by those scene… if its any consolation, SHE didn’t give in easily. SHE tried and tried and tried to talk some sense into him and avoided HIM and discouraged HIM… really, SHE tried everything and yet in the end, he wore her down specially after reading “the letter”… SHE lost her battle… I’ve heard this uttered before on boob tube by a very sweet and pretty celebrity who openly displayed her affection every night on primetime TV to a guy who is NOT her acknowledged celebrity boyfriend(she has one)… “its hard to battle with one’s emotions”.

Is it just me or was the excitement and fun in watching this drama diminished when they started hooking up? There is this "something" there that I could only describe as an “awkward sweetness” that is to a certain degree, somewhat difficult to watch, at least for me. Was it just my prudish side that is rearing its ugly head? It was ok when it was just HIM that’s going gaga over HER but when SHE started liking HIM for real and SHE acts cutesy and flirty towards HIM, I felt a bit uneasy and disconcerted. The 9 year age gap is not the problem with me … Its just that I cant get over the fact that HE is practically HER younger brother and when they start to make out… hmmm, while I have often aknowledged that I can be quite shallow, I guess I also have to aknowledge that in all my liberal mindedness, some parts of me is still “old school”.


If there’s one thing I truly appreciate here, it’s the fresh faces of the the leads. Although, forgive for saying this ‘coz its only a strong “feeling” on my part, and I wouldn’t exactly bet my lifetime savings on it BUT I suspect that the female lead has some work done on her nose bridge. It’s ok though, I wasn’t overly distracted by it, I was just happy to gaze at her make-up free face in almost the entirety of the drama. What can I say, it adds credibility in their acting and of course it helps that the two leads are legitimate actors to begin with and not some heavily made up idol who instantly become lead actors by virtue of their being in an influential management company!!!

I’ve already written extensively about this drama so I’ll be brief in my general assessment:

The Story and the Script: a very good story with a well-written script that challenge our sensibilities that could open an intelligent and interesting debate.
The Director: the general direction and fluidity of the story was paced like your average kdrama… which is most of the time, not too great but also not bad. Im sorry but I just have to mention that using the “Romeo and Juliet” theme song is a bit too much don’t you think??? Are you now trying to compare these two to the most famous star-crossed lovers of all time??? Are you kidding me :D :D :D
The Actors and Characters: I’ve already gushed and swoon over the male lead so you know what I think of HIM and his acting. I was sooo in love with HIS devil-may-care character, reminds me a bit of Ethan Hawke in “Reality Bites”^^ SHE is just as good, although not as cute as HIM. Very solid characterization and acting on both leads and on the ensemble cast. I was quite floored by the ahjusshi… the Fashion House president.
The Eye and Ear Candy: I cant remember any outstanding cinematography or any scenic shots and or songs that continuously rung in my ears after watching. Well, I know there is this one song, the love theme I presume that was also I presume sung by the male lead. But what the heck, I must confess, I cant fully appreciate music I do not understand.
The Ending: realistic but probably unsatisfying for fangirls… and boys^^

---> LOVE SHUFFLE

2009
Another excellent production from our Japanese friends and one that I would highly recommend specially to those whose tastes runs along the lines of trendy dramas. If modern dramas are not your thing, I would still recommend this with the reminder “watch it with an open mind”…
3 men and 1 lady stuck in an elevator, all residents of a penthouse on the same building, meeting for the first time and all trying to pee to the tune of Abba’s “Dancing Queen”… that’s one h*ll of an introduction and a h*ll of a way to bond with new friends :p “Bathroom Friends” as one of them calls it :p … from then on, they did become friends, discussing mundane things and their personal lives. Until they realized that they all have love problems with their ex’s or their soon to be ex’s, and all agreed together with their respective partners to experiment on a game they called… “Love Shuffle” a.k.a “Love-Sha” to see if they can find happiness with someone else or with each other, again.
Let’s meet the 4 main characters and the partners they brought to Love-Sha. First is Tamaki Hiroshi as Usami Kei(Usa-Tan). He is engaged to a sweet rich girl named Mei played by Kanjiya Shihori. She is the daughter of his boss hence his being promoted to a better position in the company. Unfortunately, she broke up with him and now he’s wondering if he wants her back because he loves her or because he doesn’t want to loose the lifestyle he has been accustomed to.
Matsuda Shota as Sera Ojiro(O-Chan) is a professional photographer who is incidentally a playboy who can read women like a book and is currently involved in an illicit relationship with a sex-starved rich housewife named Kamijyo Reiko played by Kojima Hijiri.
Tanihara Shosuke as Kikuta Masato(Kiri-Kun) is a Pyschiatrist and the partner that he brought to the “game” as his girlfriend is actually one of his patients, a suicidal and delusional girl named Hayakawa Kairi played by Yoshitaka Yuriko whom he hopes to distract from her dangerous tendencies by joining their game.
Finally, the 4th among the “Bathroom Friends” and the only girl, Karina as Aizawa Airu(Ai Ai). She is the daughter of a diplomat, she speaks 3 languages and works as an interpreter. She brought her ex-boyfriend as her Love-Sha partner. He is a rich nerdy guy with a clingy personality named Oishi Yukichi played by Daigo.
The Story and The Script. it has a very cosmopolitan feel to it, like, a story that could happen in sophisticated New York or London or Paris or whatev… so why not Tokyo? Tokyo has the same sophistication, PLUS, some unique quirks that none of those western cities has which makes it even more interesting… at least to me. Just as I had expected, the script is modern and smart and remarkably well written… what am I saying, it is sooo goood!!! Aaahhh, what a blessing, it rarely happens so… thank you drama gods!!! What’s amazing about the script is the perfect combination of all its elements. I don’t think I’ve ever come across something like this in a dorama, ever. Mystery, Mtyhology, Humor, Depth, Maturity, Sensitivity, Wit, and a whole lot more, wrapped around some pretty solid Japanese quirkyness. It injected just the right amount of each of these things in this production and instead of chaos, what it produced was an outstanding work that was truly and absolutely entertaining with a capital E. Sooo uniquely Japanese, not even close and completely devoid of any resemblance to those better written and highly successful Korean dramas. In your average Dorama, dialogues/lines have the tendency more often than not to be uttered quite rapidly in some instances, and here its no different, so I suggest that you pause it and give yourself time to read the subtitles, you’ll be amazed at the brilliance of the script. At times like this, I wish I don’t need to read the subtitles… but that’s impossible so im just ever sooo grateful to the subbers and the hardsubbers, arigatou gozaimasu ^^ the punchlines were superbly written with a “slapstick style” wordplay/word association ^^ tell me it aint’ so…joe! yay panda! ^^ with the craziness of the comedy, you’d think intellectual conversations between characters would be missing BUT its all there, in the dialogues are insights about life and love and people and their strengths and weaknesses, expressed in a way that goes beyond a deep understanding of an average mind.
The Actors and Characters. Im gratified that the well written script and those very interesting characters were not wasted on bad acting. The ensemble cast(the actors/actresses) is one of the charms of this drama, characterization(how the characters are defined) is another. you will fall in love with the characters and you’ll find yourself starting to care what happens to them in the end *or is it just me and my delusional mind that does that? ^^ * who will end up with whom?… is this character really a villain?... can this relationship succeed despite the “dark and morbid” outlook of one?... if I am to give acting honors in this drama, I would have to give it to Yoshitaka Yuriko as Kairi. How can a dark character be successful in being kawaii at the same time? Sometimes her cute smile sends creepy chills up my spine. Tamaki Hiroshi is the lead star here and was pretty good too in his “poor nice dorky guy” image BUT im afraid that I could never get pass my obsession with Nodame Cantabile and his role there. To me, any role he portrays will never be better and would pale in comparison with Chiaki Shinichi. *Sorry Senpai* ^^
The Eye and Ear Candy. Since it was shot mainly in the city of Tokyo, you would think that there would be limited chances for good cinematography but I was impressed by the shots inside Usa-Tan’s office building and on the streets of a busy and crowded metropolis. The stylists for the drama were also consistent with the kind of look that they gave for each character and their striking personalities. Usa-Tan is rural and traditional, O-Chan is sleek and modern, Kiri-Kun is professional, and Ai-Ai is stylized casual, Mei is pretty and sweet, Reiko is sexy sophistication, Kairi is dark and gloomy and Yukichi is dorky young professional. Very rarely can I appreciate songs that I do not understand, so thank you for the 80’s American songs used here. Excellent choice ^^
The Ending. Needless to say, I like this drama ‘coz I like the final pairings. In the earlier episodes, it wasn’t obvious who will end up with whom, that’s why I vowed not to write spoilers here, its part of the fun in watching this. Im not going to overanalyze if they were able to convince me as to the “feasibility and believability” of them getting together. Without giving out too much information, let me put it this way, only Yukichi and the person he ended up with, left me with a “tiny” question mark in my head, its just a very tiny question mark though ^^ my delusional mind is calm ‘coz every character is happy in the end. *thank you, thank you, no cause for a mild depression after watching this ^^*

i would have wanted to leave you with some really nice fanvids of the 2 songs from this drama BUT, the love theme, Bangles' ETERNAL FLAME were like used as some kind of an ode or tribute to their favorite pairs in the drama ^^ therefore there are spoilers galore in them so i'll just leave you with the other english song in this drama, the opening and closing theme from Love Shuffle, here's Earth, Wind and Fire's FANTASY...

---> ROMANCE TOWN

Broadcast period: 2011-May-11 to 2011-July-14



Romance Town has a very traditional plot for a story(or so I thought) and a very modern style in production and script. And because of that, im at a loss, I don’t know how to classify this drama. its not your straight-up romantic comedy which I thought it was. In fact, there are times when I thought some scenes and in most parts really, its like a combination of an American sit-com and soap opera. There was a point in the earlier episodes when I thought there’s a comedy/adventure somewhere when the lottery ticket came into the picture. And then it got me thinking… is it trying to be a mature drama with a profound plot like… “Money is the Root of All Evil”, specially so when halfway through it, I notice some semblance of traditional melodrama too. On the other hand, there’s this something called “dark humor” which i thought was the path its going. it did go that way... to a certain extent. What can one expect from a plot that includes, first prize lottery tickets and gangsters and loan sharks and trophy wives and rich men with 2 wives in the same house… of course there will be thieves and opportunists and rich greedy men, and, women that will stop at nothing all in the name of M O N E Y. I guess it should be classified as all-of-the-above… aaah, its just a pity that the love story angle was overwhelmed by the same “all-of-the-above”. If there’s a flaw in this particular drama, it’s the fact that there’s too much going on that the essence of what I thought was its main thrust was drowned… somewhere. There are too many characters, each one as important as the next and as unique as the next. I got attached not on the lovestory part but on the adventure of each of these people.

Actress Sung Yu Ri who plays No Soon Geum(NSG), is the main character in this drama. she’s a third generation maid(dont ask me why but they are referred to as ahjumma in the translations. an Ahjumma as far as i know means an older married woman in korean). Im not a great fan of her character even if there is a feisty side in her which I always favor in my heroines. WHY? Because there is also this side of her that cries once too often for my taste. To me crying is reserved only for those very special occations ^^
Actor Jung Gyu Woon who plays Kang Gun Woo(KGW), is the son of the household where NSG is the maid. He is of course the love interest of our heroine. He was the overweight guy in the 1st episode(thank goodness I only have to bear the fat suit for 1 episode!). he is generally a good guy and yet im not too impressed with him for he oftentimes exudes a "placid wimp" aura to me ^^ mianhe to those who like him *Orz* ^^


the more outstanding characters for me are the following:

Kim Min Joon as Kim Young Hee, he was some sorta rich playboy in the earlier episodes but for some reason, the writer forgot that and I couldn’t see a trace of that side of him soon after. I like him ‘coz he’s the master that comfortably hangs out with the maids and its not even a put-on. He never demanded or plotted to get back his grandfather’s painting inspite the fact that he was in a very dire situation. and most of all, he never once took advantage of his young maid's affection for him.

Lee Jae Yong as Kang Tae Won, Gun Woo’s father. He’s a total snob, honest and tactless to the core. but his honesty is confined only to his dismay and disgust at the thought of his son getting on with their maid. In-character until the very end.

Yang Jung Ah as Seo Yoon Joo, the trophy wife, who seems proud and unapologetic of that infamous tag.

Jo Sung Ha as Hwang Yong, the richest guy in the neighborhood with a dark past, he is the gangster/loanshark. Despite that description, he is compassionate and fair.

Park Ji Young as Oh Hyun Joo, one of the maids, the pretty/older one that seems more interested in finding love than money.

Lee Kyung Shil as Uhm Soo Jung, one of the maids, the not-too-pretty/older one that forgot all her good values when faced with 10 billion won. How can I forget her wailing in church in the most pathetic/funny manner, berating God for favoring the prettier Hyun Joo over her ^^

I wrote earlier that im at a loss how to classify this drama, welllllll, not only can I not classify this drama, I also cannot write a structured drama review of this ! just when I thought I had it figured out, it turns out to be something else. How can I write about it when time and again, in the course of my viewing, I always find myself making wrong predictions as to what’s gonna happen next. Honestly speaking, I have a very good batting average when it comes to those things, im even surprised at myself ‘coz I can usually tell where a story is going. After seeing the entire 20episodes, I can only conclude that indeed, the intention of the writer/s was to focus mainly on the plight of the maids(hence, its original title), at least that was the intention BUT im afraid when the lottery ticket entered the picture, everything else was overshadowed by it. it was like the writers was stucked with that part of the storyline that took a life of its own getting itself into all sorts of scrapes, predicaments, and adventures that created quite a chaos in the exclusive community called 1st Street. Truth be told, I watched the last 5 episodes in one sitting precisely because I wanted to know what will happen to the money and the characters in the drama. I wasn’t that interested at what happened to the main love team of this drama, that was kinda predictable that they’ll end up together anyway, in fact, the pair that was more interesting to me was the love between the pretty ahjumma Hyun Joo and the gangster ahjussi. My only complaint there is that I never saw it coming, I mean the interest of the maid in the gangster boss, its just that one day and with a little prodding from the oldest of the maids, she just suddenly likes him, hmmm… I’ll let that issue rest ‘coz it was pretty clear on the opposite side of the fence anyway, and I mean the gangster’s interest in the maid after carrying a torch for the trophy wife. i guess she won him over when she saved his butt and hid his "black book". aaahhh, im happy for them… WAAAAAAAA, I’ve gone bonkers ^^ that im actually happy for people who are not real! ^^ please excuse my mental tendencies, they do go away after awhile, honestly! HAAAAAA ^^

And since this is a “scattered” drama review written by a scatterbrained reviewer, ^^ before I end this “review” , please allow me to take note and share my random thoughts on this drama:

NSG's odd relationship with somebody that she described as a loanshark/gangster/triad boss is peculiar yet verrry interesting to me indeed. They became each other’s confidant because of secrets they vowed to keep

All the maids were tested by some divine entity, ok God, and only NSG and Hyun Joo were able to resist the lure and temptation of man’s greed for money. although at some point, they too were “slightly” tempted and gave in to a tinge of selfishness but in the end, their good side won which cannot be said of the other 3 maids, who sadly, put on display just how badly money can corrupt people.

*broken record alert* Doesn’t it just drive me mad when these drama directors and writers would assume that we have brains the size of a pea? How in the world can KGW not recognize their own maid(and I mean not even a tinie winie bit of a clue, as in nada) whom he has exchanged many long conversations with because of a mere addition of an eyeliner and a pulled back hairstyle ??? WeH ? same voice, same height, same bone structure... cincha !!! doesn’t it piss us off when somebody assume that were dumb. Welll, I may not be brilliant but dumb im certainly not! and please NSG ajhumma, stop apologizing to KGW every 5 minutes, is it your fault that he’s blind and dumb that he didn’t even recognize you after a few strokes of an eyeliner and a hair extension?

I dunno about you but I have a thing about men in uber trendy clothes.. hate ‘em! KGW and that scarf that he loves to wear around his neck in the early episodes is too gay for me and the high waisted pleated pants doesn’t work for me too. Man, the 80’s style belongs to the 80’s, let it remain there, okie?

As a final thought… why in the world is this drama entitled Romance Town??? I know its original title was Maids, which admittedly is a bit of a no-brainer but at least it makes some sense compared to the title it ended up with. There is romance here but its not all about romance. This drama is about social class and money, and the star of the show is actually, the Lottery Ticket! As it is, I got lost thinking it was a lovestory between the master and the “slave”, haaay, before I knew it, I was already hooked and couldn’t get out ‘coz I wanted to know how all the characters will end up. Thankfully, it was an ok ending. There’s enough retribution to those who deserve it and to those who have endured, they were appropriately rewarded^^