Why Jang Geun Suk is the Prince of Asia: Pretty Man (Bel Ami/Beautiful Man/Pretty Boy) Korean Drama Review

Pretty Man was one of those K-dramas that could have gone either way for me, pretty much until the very end when it all unexpectedly came together. There were parts of the plot that made no sense, and aspects of the characters that I loathed, but somehow by a little magic it kept me coming back for more, and even left me satisfied at the end. After short thought I contribute this largely to the mystery that is Jang Geun Suk's charm. I can't explain it, and never believed in it before, but this drama has undeniably led me to understand why it is that Jang Geun Suk is indeed the Prince of Asia.

But let me back up…

The main reason I was drawn to Pretty Man was because of IU's charming ability to make you want to be her, or to at least be her best friend. Her character, Kim Bo Tong, is this strange combination of awkward, adorable, whimsical, slightly perverted, very determined, and incorrigible in her determination to love the male lead.

IU portrays this child-like innocence and wonder like no other actress. Her big round eyes, porcelain skin, rosy lips, and cute little haircut all contribute to this ability, but beyond that she just exudes an excitement as if she's discovering the world for the first time and is in awe of all of it, especially of the male lead, Ma Te (Jang Geun Suk).

I just couldn't resist this female lead despite the fact that her type of one-sided love and obsession for the male lead always is a huge turn off for me (see my Playful Kiss review for another example of my hatred for puppy-like female leads). It still really bothered me to see her give and give relentlessly to Ma Te even though he snubbed her and used her so arrogantly, but in spite of this assault on my senses, I was able to overlook it. IU magic!

One reason I think I was able to get past that was that I LOVED the second male lead David Choi, played by Lee Jang Woo. Since he played such a big part in the drama, more so than most second male leads, I sometimes forgot entirely about Ma Te. He provided a great distraction from the parts I hated and I was sucked into his equally quirky, innocent, and loyal character. He definitely was the other half of IU and their interactions were hilarious and awww-inducing.

I knew he wasn't going to win, but I managed to live in denial completely for about 14 of the 16 episodes. Then it all went south when the male lead finally decided to do a complete, sudden 180 and fall in love with the female lead.

Oh my heart! I was so sad for him.

I want you by my side David!!!

I don't think the writers really thought the plot all the way through before they wrote it, or even until they were writing the second to last episode. The main story line of Ma Te having to seduce 10 women to steal their powers so he could become a worthy heir just didn't really solidify. They kept up the "a new girl to tame an episode" theme for the first few episodes, but then it was like they forgot about it entirely or ran out of ideas. It was as if in the last few episodes the writers were like, "I feel like we're forgetting something. Oh yeah! We never finished the PLOT!" So then they hurriedly threw in a couple more girls and assigned some random women that already existed in the story those roles.

Oh man, this moment when he was trying to seduce the electric fairy was when I first realized his charm.

Also the whole "secret code" thing was problematic to me. First, I don't understand what the point of the secret code was since he didn't actually need it to get anything since he wasn't actually an heir. Second, I don't really get what it means for IU to be his secret code. Secret code to what? His CEO father, who ended up not even being his father, didn't give him anything once he brought IU with him. It made no sense. I don't think that's what the writers originally set out to do. I guess they meant that IU was his secret code to happiness in life, but it just wasn't well thought out.

The biggest problem of all was the placement of the main couple in the plot. We all know that this genre of K-dramas are pretty much all alike in that there is a mean male lead, but then he falls in love with the poor, hard working female lead, so he's nice to her and they are blissful for a couple of episodes until they face one last major challenge to their love (usually involving an evil matriarch) and then they end up happily ever after.

Pretty Man succeeded in this, but the timing was all off. Ma Te was not nice and showed hardly any signs of love towards Bo Tong until the last two episodes. This should have happened by episode 8! It was too little too late. They totally missed the couple blissful episodes in the middle that they should have had, and the male lead never grew on me.

For every 10 arrogant faces he made, there was one irresistible smile. And let's not forget the myriad of hairstyles, mostly ugly!

And this is where the magic of Jang Geun Suk comes in. Somehow he made this work. He scowled and was arrogant for 90% of the show, but when he turned around and became loving and humble at the very last second, I actually bought it!

How is that possible? And I wasn't even all that sad that she didn't end up with the second male lead, even though his sadness broke my heart and I wanted them together so bad. But beyond comprehension Jang Geun Suk flashed his hypnotizing smile and made me believe it was all going to be ok. I kind of hate him for it, but I can't deny he did it. He saved the show!

Overall, I enjoyed Pretty Man partly because I tricked my roommate into watching it with me so we bonded over it, partly because the whimsical feel of it was fun and light after watching so much crying in Heirs, partly because I love IU, partly because I wanted to marry the second male lead, and ultimately because Jang Geun Suk is the Prince of Asia and kind of the Prince of My Heart, just a little bit.

For all its plot holes and the obnoxious female lead's love for the male lead, I can recommend it as a fun, light hearted K-drama to watch when you just want to mindlessly sit back and relax. There wasn't too much excessive crying or longing, but it will give you the pleasant FEELS.

What did you think of Pretty Man? Did Jang Geun Suk steal your heart? Which of his hairstyles did you hate the most? Comment below!

Why Jang Geun Suk is the Prince of Asia: Pretty Man (Bel Ami/Beautiful Man/Pretty Boy) Korean Drama Review

12 MORE Things we learned about Korea from Watching Kdramas

Anyone who's been watching Kdramas for very long knows just how educational they can be. We learn so much about what life must really be like in Korea, right? Right? Ok, maybe not really, but the fantasy aspect is what makes them so great! I already shared 12 Things We learned about Korea from watching Kdramas, so if you missed it be sure to go get educated. Here are 12 MORE! 

Any other fun things you learned about Korea from watching Kdramas? Comment below!

12 MORE Things we learned about Korea from Watching Kdramas

12 Things We Learned About Korea From Watching Kdramas

The first Kdrama I ever watched was Lie To Me, and the main reason I began watching it was because I didn't know anything about modern Korea and wanted to learn. And boy did I ever! I've even been teaching all the fans over on DramaFever's Facebook page. Here are 12 things I've learned about Korea from watching Kdramas.

What other fun, exaggerated things have you learned about Korea from watching Kdramas? What about American dramas? Comment below!

12 Things We Learned About Korea From Watching Kdramas

Kind of Like Exercise: Flower Boy Next Door Review

In order to explain my feelings about Flower Boy Next Door, allow me to make an analogy. Flower Boy Next Door is like exercise; I had a very hard time getting motivated to actually start each episode, but then once I got started it felt good, and I remembered that I actually did enjoy it. This in contrast to things like childbirth and puppies, which people think are a good idea until they do it and remember how terrible it actually is (I've never actually given childbirth or raised a puppy; they just seem like terrible ideas that people have.) Unfortunately, Flower Boy Next Door was one of those Korean Dramas that I just couldn't quite get into and struggled to finish. However, it had a lot of really great moments for me that made it mostly worth it. I typically give up on kdramas that don't make me battle with my inner 5 year old self to go to sleep over, but this drama had such a strong beginning that I felt compelled to see it through.

(Vivi's note: I also watched most of this series recently, but since I never actually managed to finish the last two episodes, I'll let Coco take this one!  I liked the series, but I got distracted with other things.  I'll add some of my observations here and there.)

Main Plot Summary:

Flower Boy Next Door stars the "Queen of Romantic Comedies", Park Shin-hye, as as Go Dok-mi, a young woman who becomes a recluse after a devastating event in high school makes her a social outcast. One of the only ways she connects to the outside world is by spying on her attractive neighbor across the way. She is caught in the act of peering through binoculars one day by the neighbor's cousin, Enrique Geum, a whimsical video game developer played by Yoon Shi-yoon. He decides to help her rejoin the world and open herself up to love and friendship, along with the help of three other attractive neighbors.

Reasons why FBND is worth the 16 hour investment.

1. The Poetic Themes

The female lead, Go Dok-mi, is an aspiring writer so we are able to listen in on her inner monologue as she writes about her experiences with coming to open her heart back up to love and being loved. She makes some beautiful observations about human relationships that make the show very touching. My favorite example of this is when she realizes that the reason that Enrique appears to be able to read her mind is because, "To that man, love is seeing with both people's eyes and feeling with both hearts, seeing the world more deeply." Once she realizes that this is what love is really all about, she can then read his thoughts as well. This moment really pulled the whole show together for me on an emotional level.

(Vivi's note: I would also like to give a shout-out to Go Dok-mi's POETIC HAIR.  Holy freaking cow. That is the best tousled hair I have ever seen in my life.  It almost made me want to become a recluse who doesn't shower.  Almost.)

2. The Humor

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Although I was not a big fan of the male lead, and was totally on the second male lead's side, he did have the gift of physical comedy going for him. There were some moments, particularly at the beginning, that made me literally LOL, and I don't use LOL loosely. I hate when people just throw out LOL's when you know that there's no way they actually laughed out loud. This drama was able to remain appealing to me because it played funny moments really well, especially thanks to the fact that several of the characters also star in Saturday Night Live Korea and other comedy shows.

(Vivi's note: The panda hat makes me super uncomfortable for some reason.)

3. The Side Characters:

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How cute were they? So cute! The webtoon artists next door were adorable and just really good guys, not to mention totally hot. I'm not really sure why the Japanese guy existed since he kind of appeared out of nowhere, did not push the plot forward at all, and then made an odd exit, but at least he was cute and added to the number of flower boys next door. The editor of the webtoon, played by Kim Seul-gie, who also stars on SNL Korea, was super funny and I really hope I see more of her. I feel like she's the Korean Emma Stone, and I freakin love Emma Stone. And the second female lead had the best facial expressions and over the top acting that actually made her character really great. All in all I approve of the casting choices and character development of the side characters.

(Vivi: Can we petition to have Kim Seul-gie star in her own drama?  I would love to see some of that sass and physical humor in a kdrama lead!)

Reasons why FBND is not worth the 16 hour investment:

1.The 10 long, repetitive, and uninteresting episodes in the middle

 Thinking back on these, I honestly can't even remember what happened. I think it was an awful lot of,
"You should leave me to go live your dream."
"No, I will never leave you, you are my dream."
"Fine I'll pretend not to love you so you will go."
"No, I won't go, jk, I will go, jk, I won't go, jk, I actually did go."
With me going, "What? Did he go or not? Just go already!"

All in all, Flower Boy Next Door had a lot to offer but just had too much time to do it in. This drama could have been a great 2 hour movie instead of a whole series. If they had cut out the unnecessary plot points and overdone scenes and just focused on the beautiful themes and character development, then it truly could have been a great drama.

2. The Male Lead

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I'm not a huge fan of Yoon Shi-yoon. Sometimes his man-child goofiness came off as endearing, but more often than not it came off as irritating and unattractive. I actually thought he was much hotter when he had a on serious expression than when he smiled. I need my male leads to be a bit more suave and manly. This was one of the first kdramas where I experienced no jealousy of the female lead for getting to kiss the male lead. I just really loved the second male lead so much and felt like he was a better match. I know that this drama wanted to play up the whole "opposites attract" thing, but let me just say that I once took a social psychology class, and that theory is pretty untrue. Humans actually love being with people like themselves. Hence the reason why we get so excited to run into other kdrama fans! The second male lead just seemed like a much better fit for the female lead, even though I know that the point was that he would have let her keep living the way she was living and never would have pushed her back into the world the way Enrique did.

(Vivi's note: But don't you remember how they beat the audience over the head with that nature metaphor? Something about trees?  Or wind?  And that was supposed to make us understand why Enrique was her true match?  I actually let the show convince me that Enrique was better for her, but that doesn't mean that he was better for me.  I'm sorry, but I will choose the outwardly sarcastic but inwardly thoughtful comic book designer over the hyperactive chipmunk who wears knee socks any day.)

3. The Unbelievable Plot Points

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The whole premise for the cause of her becoming an extreme recluse seemed over the top to me. Maybe I'm just not as sensitive as other people (although I'm sure Vivi would tell you differently) but it just seemed unlikely that her experience of being shunned and made fun of in high school would make an otherwise normal person become completely shut off from the world. Maybe they could have done a better job of explaining how severe her experience was to make it more believable. Mostly I just became irritated with how sullen and depressed she looked all the time for 14/16 episodes. I was like, "Get over it! You have 4 freaking hot guys being your friends/lovers. I could get over anything if that was me!" Also, the whole video-game-designer-crazy-sabotaging-fan-thing was a little weird and over the top too. Maybe it's just because I'm not a gamer, but I didn't really get it.

(Vivi's note: Her diary made the sullenness bearable for me. Sure she was terrified of everyone, but at least she had some personality inside her own head!  That's more than I can say for a lot of sad kdrama ladies.)

In conclusion, I loved Flower Boy Next Door for what it could have been. It started out so strongly and I couldn't stop watching for about the first three episodes. Then something happened and it became very tedious to watch until the last few episodes, which were funny and endearing, in which it redeemed itself.

What was your opinion of Flower Boy Next Door? Also, are there any other kdramas that were like exercise to you? Comment below.

Kind of Like Exercise: Flower Boy Next Door Review

Kdramas in the Real World: Texts to a Bestie

When Coco wrote her post comparing her life to a k-drama, I started to wonder how I would react if her life suddenly turned into a kdrama.  Can you imagine the text conversations you would have if Geum Jan Di were your best friend?  I just did:

Which kdrama heroines do you wish would text you?  What would you say?

Kdramas in the Real World: Texts to a Bestie