Nang rang 18 seh (TV Series 2004) Poster

User Reviews

Review this title
2 Reviews
Sort by:
Filter by Rating:
9/10
One of the Best Romantic-COMEDIES
Puddlemini6 August 2008
The dreamy, tough, and silly 18 year old girl; the rich, slightly serious, 28 year old professional. This drama certainly had the exact formula that made so many other K-dramas a success.

Then why is it not recognized on par with other K-dramas out there? It's simple; the aim of this drama was to entertain. Unfortunately, there was no gimmick.

Lee Dong-Gun and Han Ji-Hye did a wonderful job as a couple that were just beginning to get used to each other. The level of love and respect they show each other, as well as the hilarious scenes highlighting their comedic abilities, are believably sugary sweet.

It brilliantly stuck to it's roots, keeping true to both the comedy and romantic aspect of it's genre. The romance and the hardships of marriage were mushy, gushy, sappy... and oh-so-adorable.

There were no sticky love triangles or detailed misunderstandings that often frustrate viewers. Every single character (with the exception of perhaps, Lee Da Hae's humorous villain Moon Ga-young) was realistically portrayed. It beautifully captured both the traditions and teachings of old with the fast paced life of the new.

Korean tradition was brilliantly captured and respected; not mocked as it so often is in other drama. The action scenes were perhaps a bit silly to watch (matrix style jumps typical of K-drama… which only added to the humor) but were also realistically portrayed.

And… that's why it failed. Every single successful K-drama has a gimmick, a enticing point that showed viewers that it was definitely different. No one died of cancer in this drama, no one cried for 5 episodes straight, no one cheated, and no one stole/lied/manipulated the other. There was no famous pop star… there wasn't a famous transformation that made recent drama's like "Coffee Prince" a favorite.

Watch this drama if you want to see some beautiful acting, nice rural scenery, learn some ancient proverbs perhaps ^_^, and some hilarious and scary encounters. Watch it if you want to see a real Romantic-Comedy that manages to balance both out beautifully.
4 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
5/10
I love and hate it
gonnabefantastic13 June 2024
Warning: Spoilers
I discovered this series while searching for Korean dramas about contract marriage. Thought it sounded cute and interesting, so I gave it a shot.

For some reason, I found myself wanting to binge on it despite how angry it made me to watch it. I'll get the positives out of the way first.

I loved the sweet, tender moments between the two main leads. Hands down the best scenes were the private romantic moments they shared. I really liked the way the show handled the concept of consummating a marriage. It was tastefully and meaningfully done. It genuinely made me smile and feel warm. I also enjoyed how awkward and innocent they both acted whenever faced with their growing fondness of one another. It was really endearing. There were also some funny moments throughout that made me chuckle.

Unfortunately, that's about all the good I can say about this drama. The rest of the characters did nothing but get on my nerves every second. I don't know how it is in these types of traditional families since this is not my culture, but I will say that I wanted to punch every single side character in this show.

The male lead's sister was absolutely obnoxious. Couldn't stand her the second she came on screen. She tried to break her brother and his wife up constantly. She was rude, insulting, bossy, and overall just a disgusting character. She treated the female lead like garbage. Same goes for the male lead's ex-girlfriend. I understand she was meant to be a villain of sorts, but my God she pissed me off.

As for the female lead's mother - words cannot describe how disappointed I was in this character. She's supposedly portrayed as this loving mother who wants the best for her daughter, but again, all she does, like the others, is treat the poor girl like dog doo. She's constantly scolding her and bashing her, telling her how inadequate she is as a daughter and a wife. Same goes for the elders and the stupid grandfather. I've heard some people say this show teaches lessons about responsibility, but I'm sorry, I can't see past the despicable way they treat the female lead.

The female lead herself gets on my nerves with how overdramatic she is, but I still tolerated her far more than the other horrible excuses for people around her. Was I supposed to be touched by her mother trashing her and calling her "flawed" and "lacking in so many ways"? Was I supposed to smile when the horrible sister-in-law schemed and scolded her, forcing her to do all these things that were meant to sabotage her? Was I supposed to laugh? None of that was funny.

The husband is cute, caring, and charming, but even he got on my nerves with how he just lets his wife get treated like crap. Man, this show pissed me off so bad. I really wanted to love it. I truly did. Perhaps I'm just too sensitive or not "responsible" enough. Or maybe I'm too "immature" like how they try to hammer into our heads the way the girl is. Infuriating.

Not to mention there was soooo much misogyny. I get it was the 2000s but come on. So many unnecessary mentions about "men are this way, women are that way." It felt really gross.
0 out of 0 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

See also

Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews


Recently Viewed