Coming from a medical background, this on-going Korean Drama is relatable in all levels. Now on Netflix, this new series is full of comedy & drama, depicts the sacrifices of a mother to her family. Starring Uhm Jung-hwa in the titular role, along with Kim Byung-chul, Myung Se-bin, and Min Woo-hyuk.
It has been dominating the TV rankings since its released. According to Soompi, “Doctor Cha” took No. 1 on Good Data Corporation’s weekly list of the dramas that generated the most buzz.
The acting of Uhm Jung-hwa is notable and very good indeed, her character was a full-time housewife who after 20 years decided to go back to her medical practice. A kind of drama that keeps you sane in this crazy modern world. ❤
Oh how we love charming and funny dramas like this one! Korean dramas are expanding their theme from the usual lovey-dovey romance or conflict to more deep & relevant topics like psychology.
When the legendary Royal physician Yoo Se Poong (Kim Min Jae) was expelled from the royal court, he moves to a quaint and beautiful Gyesu village. There he meets Kye Ji han (Kim SangKyung) that will help him transform to a doctor who heals hearts.
Watch or stream it in Viu, Netflix and original network is TvN.
While waiting for season 2 of Alchemy of Souls, I was recommended to watch this after Because this is my first life. Both Korean dramas starred our favorite couple – Lee JaeWook and Jung So-min (but separately).
I like Jung Somin character in Because this is my first life, however this post is dedicated to Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol starring no less than Lee JaeWook.
KBS
Why you’ll love this K-drama?
super funny
dog named “mimi” is the cutest
the positivity of Rara is contagious
unique kind of fairy tale
This drama revolves around RaRa (Go Ara) who is the heiress of RaRa cosmetics. Like what I said – she is an optimistic talented lady who sees the best in people and in every situation. Her positivity is contagious and brings good vibes everytime. Tragic events happened during her wedding ceremony and meets Sunwoo Joon (Lee JaeWook) a good looking warm-hearted man who is the complete opposite of Rara.
Fond of her beautiful curls which remind me of mine and her bubbly character that’s like no other.
Eventually they developed feelings for each other as things become complicated.
Watch or binge it in streaming sites like Netflix.
Leaning on each other through thick and thin, a trio of best friends stand together as they experience life, love and loss on the brink of turning 40.
– Netflix
While waiting for next episodes of Under the Queen’s Umbrella, this series caught my eyes. I thought this will be light and funny, but it’s actually sad. About the struggles of people with chronic illness, fear of what would happen, uncertain of what will it be on days nearing her death. Dealing with family, relationships, love and career. The strong bond between the three and their frienship in sickness and in health.
There are light moments too amidst tearful scenes. As much as I want to post more about this drama, perhaps sharing the memorable quotes would be much better.
“When you’re overwhelmingly grateful, you find it so hard to express your gratitude.”
– Chanyoung
“Let’s live in the present.”
– Kim Seonu
“i wanted to forget reality and that everything was peachy. I just wanted to believe that.” – Mijo
“The stars are so pretty that it makes me sad.” – Cha Mijo
“i think i’ll prefer this even when i get old. I’m that happy now. But if my happiness makes you feel uneasy, that’s just sad.” – Hyeon-jun
“That was our choice. To live like there’s no tomorrow. Like there’s no sadness. That’s how we decided to spend each day.” – Cha Mijo
“This is about the things that won’t come back. This is about our moments.” – Chanyoung
“My entire body aches because you hit me with the sad reality.”
– Chanyoung
“As I grew older, I realized no matter how tough life may be and no matter your story, you should never abandon your child.” – Mijo
Live as if this is not happening.
-Chanyoung
“When our bodies get sick, we either get surgery or take medicine. When our minds get sick, we should get good rest.” – Mijo’s father
“A true friend lets you know what’s right and wrong.” – Cha Mijo
“That day, when everything felt hopeless, the touch of his hand felt so warm.” – Cha Mijo
Beautiful OST by Choi Yu Ree, she sang other OSTs like Wish from Hometown Cha cha cha
I’ve watched many Kdramas and many I’ve failed to feature. Trending series like One the Woman, which is now available in Netflix. There’s Mr. Queen which is equally very funny we’d burst in laughter non stop, rom-com I’m not a robot (one of my favorites), and list go on…
My hubby (& Kdrama buddy) and I love period/historical dramas. They are remarkable, informative, beautiful portrayal of royal families and relay the life of Koreans under that era. This new series is somehow relatable, as a mom myself, raising children is the most difficult role in the world. The more for the queen during Joseon kingdom.
Under The Queen’s Umbrella is not the first Korean historical drama to focus on the precarious position of female royalty during the Joseon Dynasty, but it does emphasize the machinations that such uneven power systems provoked. Because most court women had no real power to affect change, some turned to duplicitous plots—from rumormongering to murder—to improve their station.
Quite late on this as everyone’s talking about season 2 coming this December. We just finished episode 3 and this series continues to mesmerize me. With beautiful faces, gorgeous ensemble, makeup, costumes, scenery and fantastic special effects.
AlchemyofSouls(Netflix) from creators the Hong Sisters, Jung-eun and Mi-ran (Hotel Del Luna, Korean Odyssey), takes us to a magical land called Daeho, where sorcerers (mages) have harnessed the power of the natural world.
Jang Uk (Lee Jae-Wook) comes from the noble Jang family. He holds an unpleasant secret about his birth. A troublemaker, switching from one master to another and happens to meet Mu-Deok (Jung So-Min) – an elite warrior and assassin, but her soul is trapped in a physically weak body. She then becomes Uk’s servant, secretly teaching him martial arts and skills.
So the plot seems pretty simple, about these two main characters – Uk and Mu-doek exhanging funny antics, determined to prove themselves in this magical world while romance is being developed.
Alchemy of Souls – tVn
One notable character is Seo Yul (Minhyun) who comes from Seo family. Aside from his good looks, he is also intelligent and has strong martial arts skills. I’m sensing a love triangle in the future episodes 😉
Alchemy of Souls
Stream this on Netflix and other sites, surely your love for fantasy will be revived as spells come left and right.
Tomorrow is a fantasy drama based on a webtoon of the same name by Llama. It follows the story of Choi Junwoong and his job as part of the Special Crisis Management Team of the underworld. Casts include Kim HeeSun as Koo Ryun, SF9’s RoWoon as Choi Junwoong, Lee Soo Hyhuk, and Yun Ji On.
Tomorrow or Naeil in Korean is a drama that said to convey warm sympathy and comfort to those living in real harsh world. True to its promise, me and my hubby (kdrama) buddy are currently glued to this series as we watch the characters and their sufferings and healing. This series has gained attention for its different approach to sensitive and dark topics like suicide.
Suicide is a serious topic and with South Korea ranking fourth in the world when it comes to suicidal rate according to WHO. In the Philippines, there’s a 57% increase in suicidal rate because of Covid-19 mainly from loss of jobs and business.
This appealed to me from a personal level and there are many lessons that we can learn from this drama (Will post separately). You help people with kindness, kindness that begins with understanding that we all struggle. We all have problems.
You would think of grim reapers as escorts of death, but no, there’s a special group dedicated to save souls or people from committing suicide. The empathic side of me is very touched, an innate desire to help people in dire need.
“What saves people is not your powers but the weight of your words”
This marks the finale of season 1 and what a beautiful way to end it by Attorney Woo discovering a new emotion – “fulfillment.”
In my Psychology class, we’re repeatedly taught to identify our feelings. It is amazing and extraordinary for Attorney Woo who has Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) was able to discover and name that new feeling. Thanks to the good upbringing of her father that even in the lack of money/power, she turned out well.
This drama grew on me as I see the maturity of Young Woo despite her disability. Her conversations with her parents and peers are thought provoking even the dialogue with herself is heartwarming. No wonder I have made several posts about this Kdrama 😉
In this episode we’ll meet Tae Su-mi’s son and younger brother of Attorney Woo – Sang Hyeon, also a genius and gimbap lover. Many “good” things happened like Attorney Min-woo having a change of heart, bravery of Young Woo and her realizations, confession of Jun-ho, etc. It’s like everything falls into place as they wrap up season 1.
Allow me to share the touching words of Young Woo talking to Tae Su-mi ~
“Sang Hyeon believes you’re a good mom. Don’t betray his belief.”
“You were not a good mother to me, but at the very least, please be a good mother to Sang Hyeon.”
Young Woo began the confrontation by saying that she is like a narwhal in a pod of belugas. Being with different whales and an ocean of many experiences, she appreciates and sees this in a beautiful way. “Though unusual and peculiar” – title of this episode was manifested very well. Jun-ho got back together with Young Woo and their talk about a love for a cat is cute and funny.
After winning the case, the characters gather to eat and celebrate. They are happy, teasing each other as usual. I love this Hanbada team so much!
Episode 16 stills
Attorney Woo is the character we all need in this difficult times. This drama appealed to me in many levels and if you’d agree with me the ending is life-like, it’s meant to go on (as we look forward to season 2).
Youtube/The Swoon
All whales are happy now, this is a perfect ending for season 1 indeed
Every Wednesday/Thursday night airs 2 new episodes of this Kdrama we all adore – Extraordinary Attorney Woo. I’ve talked about this in previous posts and obviously this has become my drama of the year.
As this series is nearing its end, I can’t help but feel sad, the more after watching episodes 13 and 14. We’re all worried for attorney Jung (Kang KiYoung) as he was diagnosed with stage 3 stomach cancer. Actually, I thought he has lung disease as he spat blood prompting him to see a doctor.
This episode with their new case in a cultural heritage in Jeju, is most meaningful to Attorney Jung as he was reflecting on his life and marriage.
Episodes 13 & 14 highlighted the story of attorney Jung, plus the emotional scenes of Attorney Woo with Jun-ho. I will only spoil you a bit because these two episodes are unlike the previous ones and you wouldn’t want to miss it.
Attorney Woo in dolphin watching
It is a challenge no doubt to love somebody with health issues or a disability. You need a great amount of understanding and patience. We see different sides of each character here in this week’s episodes…
Spoiler Alert: this post may contain dialogue or scenes from Extraordinary Attorney Woo episode 8.
This is such a beautiful episode and so it’s a must to share this in a separate post. Quoting the conversation and exchanges betweem the mom – Attorney Tae Sumi and daughter Attorney Young-woo and other touching dialogues. I’ll be focusing on the mushy side of relationships and family.
Source: IMDb
The case they are handling is a direct continuation of episode 7 – tale of Sodeok-dong. She discovered that her real mother is the famous and CEO of Taesan law firm. The touching revelation of how her dad made sacrifices and gave up his future for his daughter – Attorney Young-woo. We all adore Gwangho-shi as a selfless parent who can give up everything for his child.
Do you not recognize me?
– Young-woo
I feel sad for attorney Young-woo and her dad… We can’t deny the fact there are some parents like that, prioritizing herself before the child. It can be a true representation and bitter reality of homes where children are compromised.
I’m Woo Gwang-ho’s daughter…
Was reminded of a story about a woman who was already married but instead of leaving her child to the husband, she brought the child and escaped with another man. That woman was also highly ambitious like Tae Sumi, but poor guy wasn’t enough for her.
I wanted leave Hanbada. But recently, I found out who you are. So I don’t think I can work here (Taesan law firm).
– Young-Woo
In this episode you’ll see attorney Woo’s emotional side when she confronted her mom who abandoned her.
I was trying to leave Hanbada to be independent of my father and be a real adult.
But I can’t leave my dad, just to join my mother’s firm.
– Young-woo
The acting in this encounter is superb, paying attention to both Tae Su-mi and Attorney Woo’s. With opposite reactions as Young-woo has ASD while the mom is in shock.
Especially not when my mother gave birth to me but abandoned me. And doesn’t recognized me at all.
Even now.
Thank you for inviting me to join in Taesan, but I’m going to continue to work in Hanbada.
And I will stay by my father’s side.
– Young-woo
Maybe we can try to place ourselves in Tae Su-mi’s position, yes she has her reasons. But I was hoping she could at least try to reach out to her…
Do you resent me for what I’ve done?
– Tae Sumi
It was nice when we looked at the tree together on top of the hill in Sodeok-dong. I wanted to meet you at least once.
It was nice to meet you…
– Young-woo
Nothing is more heartwrenching. I mean it, nothing!!! Who else cried a bucket in this episode? (TT) Background music is equally sentimental and poignant. This episode ended with the scene from the tree in Sodoek-dong’s hill.
I can’t imagine how Young-woo must have felt to learn that the woman she was so fascinated with is actually her mother, but kudos to her for handling the situation maturely. This shows how well her dad raised her, full of love and sacrifices. Despite the mother’s absence and her disability, she turned out okay and very mature.
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