What have I been doing this week? I’m glad you asked! Here’s what’s been on my watchlist this week:

TV

Strong Woman Do Bong-Soon (2017)

The entire time I spent watching Strong Woman Do Bong Soon, I kept asking myself “How did this show get made?” On the surface it appears to be a fluffy romantic comedy, but on a closer look it reveals much stronger (heh) plot elements. Overall, Strong Woman was a delight to watch, even if it left me a bit confused by its sense of humour sometimes.

The core of the show was our romance storyline, and this is definitely where our show excels. Do Bong-soon (Park Bo-young) unassuming appearance is the perfect misdirect for the power she holds within, and it’s no wonder that Min-hyuk (Park Hyung-sik) falls for her when he sees her in full action. But Min-hyuk packs a whopper of a punch in the charms department himself, and seeing his moments of falling for Bong-soon are absolutely swoon-worthy. It’s no surprise these two are drawn to each other.

What I wasn’t expecting from the show was the darker storyline of the kidnappings. It served to be terrifying in its own right, but when contrasted with the uplifting elements of the rest of the show, it takes on a whole other light. I liked that the mystery of the show wasn’t in the criminal’s identity necessarily, but in the stakes that it raises for our heroes. It teaches them the value of teamwork, and despite not agreeing with one another, or even particularly liking one another in the case of Min-hyuk and Guk-doo (Ji-soo), they understand the need to put aside their differences to work towards something bigger than them.

The other elements that stood out to me were the visual style of the show. In many ways, this show feels like the older brother to What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim?, with its vivid colour palette, animations (especially that aura around Min-hyuk) and minimalist styling. This show almost feels like it was paving the way, by being bold and brash. This even comes through with a lot of the side characters, and while some of them were downright bizarre (what was up with the doppelgängers) others were hilarious (the high school gang) or heartfelt (Kyung-sim and the Do family). I applaud the show’s writer for being a risk taker.

With its poignant social commentary and its out-there approach, the show was definitely memorable, even if some moments were hit-or-miss. Overall though, I really enjoyed Strong Woman and I was happy to join the adventures of Bong-Bong and Min-Min.

My Ajusshi (2018) – Ep 1-2

The plot is intriguing and the performances are good, but the pacing is just a little too show for my liking at the moment. I’m hoping that things start to pick up soon.

Right now it’s all about the office politics which can be really appealing if done right but isn’t quite working for me just yet. I feel like we’ve been thrown into the deep end with nothing to hold on to. But if this show goes the direction I think it’s headed in, which is to become more about exploring the relationships, I think it’s going to punch me in the feels. I can’t wait!

Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol (2020) – Ep 1-2

My second set of premier episodes of the week is the long-awaited Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol. Full disclosure: I’m here for Lee Jae-wook finally being the lead, after really enjoying him in Search: WWW. Yes, I have a problem…

While a lot has happened to our lead heroine in these first two episodes, it does feel like the writer is just moving all the necessary pieces into place before she really gets the story going. Goo Ra-ra (Go Ara) seems like your typical naive chaebol who’s lost everything, but she seems to have the best luck in the world since she ran into the only man who seems to be generous enough to actually help her. I hope she has a pretty steep learning curve, because it coming off more as childish than charming. While I am hoping the show goes well, I won’t be terribly disappointed if I just get a cute romance that makes me laugh.