Kimchi Achaar

We have a new doctor in kdrama land. Doctor and Vampire are two words that shouldn't probably come in the same sentence. But we have rookie Ahn Jae-hyun starring as Doctor Blood. Well actually he plays Park Ji Sang, a genius in his field. Like a lot of kdrama heros, including vampires, he appears to be cold and unfeeling on the surface but has a soft side to his animal instinct. Nobody can understand the value of a life unless they don't have it. And Dr. Blood is one of them who uses his supernatural powers to save his patients. He is in search of a cure for his current state and like all supernatural beings, wishes to be human. Yes, apparently he can be cured as his parents were infected by a "Vampire Virus" and thus he was born infected.



Gu Hye Sun plays Yoo Ri-T, an heiress doctor who is by nature bold, snotty and equally a genius as Dr. Blood. The teaser reminds me a lot of twilight, maybe because of the concept of a "vegetarian vampire". Let's see how the drama spans out. This is Ahn Jae Hyun third drama and the first one as the lead. He was expectional in You Who Came from the stars and You're all Surrounded. But can he carry a drama on his own. Only time will tell. Blood premieres Monday, Feb 16th.

If you have seen this drama live, you have my sympathies. Like me you would have suffered from anxiety, stress and a whole lot of other emotions. All 20 Episodes of this drama was a nerve wrecking experience. Everytime you think things are going smooth, Bham! A Wrecking ball comes at you. It has been one roller coaster of a ride and worth every minute. Healer has spoiled me for all other Kdramas. It has a strong storyline, stellar cast and an OTP with cute & sizzling chemistry and an addictive OST. I could go on and on about how good this drama is and it would never end. Atleast not in this post. Note to self, never judge a drama by its ratings. I was surprised when I saw that Healer was average approx 9% rating.

Along with an amazing leading cast, they have given us one of the most complicated bad guy - Kim Moon Shik (Here is my analysis of his character). They were certain scenes where I actually sympathized with the guy. But wrong doings come to an end at some time and its sad he was not able to redeem himself. I actually felt a pang of sympathy when I saw him go all Cookoo at the end.

Another aspect I was really amazed was the direction and storytelling. We all know that the story started off from the 1992 incident. The PD has given us enough hints to keep us guessing without letting the curiosity wear off. When you look at the whole storyline, they have dragged about 1 hour of history for 20 episodes without letting us know the exact events yet still keeping us enthralled and curious till the very last minute.

Park Min Young, I have to say, has really become a stellar actor. She has matured so much as a professional that when I was watching her all I could see was Chae Young Shin. She became the character which I feel was lacking in her other dramas. The guy who really made my heart beat a bit faster was Ji Chang Wook, whether he was fighting, speaking or taking his shirt off. It was a treat watching him on screen. He was the perfect Healer, Park Bong Soo and Seo Jung Hoo. As an actor he was able to understand each of the characters and become them without any overlapping. The audience knew who he was and able to differentiate just by his eyes. Oh those Dreamy Eyes!!!! 

uh mmm. Anyhoo, I would like to think of Young Shin and Jung Hoo's relationship like the walk they took episode 17. Where they are walking parallel to each and eventually meet up to hold hands. Wherever they have been before in their lives, it all ended up for them to be together, no matter what.This drama proved that chemistry and storyline can be just as interesting without angst, misunderstanding and noble idiocy. I hope all other writers can take a leaf out of this. I am sort of tired of seeing so many drama couples who "Sacrifices and compromises"for the other person.

I would have liked to see more of Ajumma's past and future. We got a brief glimpse of her life but somehow I was not able to connect. The script uploaded by SJN on her site mentioned how Ajumma knits baby clothes and donates them to orphanages (Courtsey: Soompi Forums). If I dint know that, I would not have understood why she looked so heartbroken when she saw all the sweaters she had to leave behind while fleeing her house. Apart from our OTP, Healer and Ajumma had to have had the most amazing relationship. You almost forget that they have never met and as actors they are in totally different locations.Yong Dong's crush over Ajumma came as a total surprise to me but I loved every moment of it, however short.

Kim Moon Ho was the support and force behind the whole Healer 2.0 team. It's easy to pass him off without realising how important his role was between the past and the present. He was the one who  trapped between what is right and family. However, I was looking at more details as to what prompted him to start searching for CYS 20 years later. From the drama it looked like it seemed to have popped up almost randomly. But happy that he got the ending he deserved.

With Healer come to a satisfying yet rushed end, I can re-watch this drama in peace knowing all everything was settled. All knots were tied up nicely but I wanted to know more. We can assume a lot of things, but I wanted to see Jung Hoo and Young Shin with their respective mothers having a coffee together. And what about Ajumma?? It almost looked like the epilougue was cut due to lack of time. We know that this had happened before with You Who Came From the Stars. But everything made sense and I am happy.

Last but not the least, writer SJN has done a brilliant job with the story. Will be adding this to my favorite list. Looking forward to more of her works. Now the big question. What am I going to do that this is over???

The problem with watching a drama like Healer is that it spoils you for all other dramas. You start having expectations so high that from there on only a handful of dramas are able to fulfll them. I started watching Healer seeing its similarity to City Hunter but expect for a few details, Healer is more satisfying a drama and much better scripted keeping the suspense and the fun till the end. All characters are well written, but the most interesting of them is Kim Moon Shik (KMS).


When starting out this drama, I was certain that KMS was the villain. The PD did the awesome job of maintaining the mystery of the 1992 incident up until episode 18 which was primarily the reason it took me this long to actually figure out KMS's motive. We all know he did not start off as the bad guy but somewhere down the lane, lost his path. 

Up until episode 17, we see flashes of the past that gives us hints of Moon Shik's love for his friend's girlfriend. We were lead to assume that jealousy and ambition made him what he is. Surprisingly, This was not the case.

In episode 17 and 18 we get more of a glimpse into the 1992 incident. As we put together all the pieces of the puzzle, we realise that Moon Shik became the person he is because of his love for MY. Till he met the Elder, he never betrayed his friend. He knew his limits where Myung Yee was concerned. We can see it in episode 3, where the friends have gathered for a dinner. He is comfortably sitting with everyone laughing and joking around. We also know that he tried saving his friends, unlike what we were led to assume. 

It was only when he felt that Myung Yee would need help that he decided to turn over to the bad side. And this was not instantaneous. Mainly cause an act done out of love can never be thought to be wrong, even if it it. The first time we see him giving the false statement to the police, his hands are shaking. Maybe some part of him believed that things wouldn't end this badly. Since he knew his friend was innocent maybe he assumed that the cops would find out the truth someday. It was possible that the death of his friend pushed him over the edge, which is why he is seen giving his statement for the second time in a zombie state (This is my assumption. No time frame was mentioned in the episode).

Kim Moon Ho describes his brother as someone who is more in denial than aware of what he has been doing all the while. This is all thanks to the Elder and Secretary Oh. Which is probably why while giving his statement to the police for the third time, he din't seem to be lying. He almost looked  like he truly believed the fabricated story. Even at present, he does not want to cause harm, Yes, he may want to manipulate everyone around him to do his bidding, but killing is not his style. He could have had Chae Young Shin and Seo Jung Hoo killed. The elder would have loved that. But that goes against his true instinct.  While Secretary Oh has been nagging him on about his wife's intrusion, he doesn't seem too bothered about it because he still truly loves her. Even with all the wrong doings, his feelings for his wife and younger brother have not changed just altered. Before what would have been true love for Myung Yee, is now mixed with fear of loosing her and guilt of his past. 

I applaud both Park Sang-won and Son Seung-won (Young Monn Shik) for showing KMS's pain and longing and his helplessness.He has portrayed the character to perfection. The Angst, the guilt and the ambition. It will be interesting to see where the finale of healer is going to land him.

Calling all Contract Dating/Marriage KDrama lovers. After quite a while comes a funny rom-com about contract marriage that doesn't make you want to roll your eyes. Instead you can look forward to a series with well cast actors having amazing comic timing that leaves you laughing out loud.

Before we go ahead, I should warn you that this drama has all possible cliches from Contract dramas

Rich guy who loves his independence and freedom - Check

Poor, cute and sassy girl - Check

Contract/Fake relationship to throw off all marriage prospects - Check

Glamorous ex-girlfriend - Check

Super cute and loveable Second lead - Check

Mother who has issues with the girl. - Check

I have a weakness for fake/contract relationship dramas. However, this genre of dramas is so easy to get wrong. And I am glad to say that 'Marriage, Not Dating' has not been a disappointment even with all the drama cliche's involved.

The story starts off with plastic surgeon Gong Ki-Tae (Yeon Woo Jin) who is yet again on a blind date set up by his mother. Meanwhile our heroine, Joo Jang-mi (Han Grou) is waiting in an apartment all ready to propose to her boyfriend, Lee Hong Dong who happens to be Ki Tae's best friend. All is fine, till he realises that his girlfriend is planning on proposing marriage. He takes the cowardly way out and speed dials his pal to save him. After much dodging and evading Jang Mi, Hong Dong decides to let his mom take matters into her hands. Jang Mi ends up with a court summons for stalking. In the whole mess of stalking, Ki Tae's mom mistakens Jang Mi as her son's girlfriend. This whole misunderstanding requires Ki Tae and Jang Mi to pretend to be dating. Obviously, pretending to be a couple makes them realize they actually want to be one. This is the simple version of the story.

We have other complications like a Second lead who wont back down. Lee Hong Dong who has realized his erroneous ways and wants to get back together. Into this mix is thrown Jang Mi's besty who wants to be with Lee Hong Dong. Ki Tae additionally has to deal with his ex-fiance, Kang Se-ah who wants him to father her children. As if all this were not enough, Ki Tae also has to deal with his cheating father and a mother who wont let cracks in the family facade ever be revealed to outsiders, whatever the cost.

In a few ways this reminds me of Kim Sam Soon. Not just in story line, but Yeon Woo Jin reminds me of Hyun Bin. But unlike Hyun Bin's character from Kim Sam Soon, Gi Tae is a more likeable character. He has his moments of confusion. But that is forgivable since that tends to be all KDrama male leads issue. "Do I want her? No! But I can`t see her with him.

I was hooked from the get go. All episodes start off at a cliffhanger and during the whole episode you are left wondering and anxiously waiting for the events that lead up to it. And all Cliffhangers have so much of drama and hilarity to it that in no way would you want to skip any scene. 

The whole family drama could have been portrayed more maturely. Not sure if the character of Gi Tae's dad was intentionally meant to be a weakling. But that is how he came across. It's heartbreaking to see Gi Tae's mom stay in the loveless relationship and be portrayed as the interfering mom by her jackass husband. But there are times when instead of feeling sorry for her, I was more annoyed at her and everyone else who pretended not to know. 

However, the most appealing part of the drama was Jang Mi. I have to say that Han Groo played her to perfection. We laughed with her, cried with her and cringed along with her. If not for her strong and well written character, this show would have been just another run of the mill contract dating dramas. 

If you haven't seen this drama yet, watch it this weekend and you won't regret it. 

When I started watching healer, I couldnt help but notice these similarities.Let me know what you have noticed in the comment section below. .