There are SOOO many layers to unpack in this K-drama. I honestly had very low expectations initially b/c the teaser for the series was pretty vague and boring, but I'm so glad I watched this show through to the end. It doesn't really pick up till ep. 3 or 4 though, so I think many of the ppl who gave negative reviews did so b/c they stopped watching after the first couple of episodes. But be patient, and you'll see why many of us gave this show rave reviews. I won't even try to explain what the series is about b/c it's too complex to try to explain in only a few sentences (and the summaries online don't do the show justice b/c it explores a wide range of issues around society, raising a family, and mental health). It's sadly also a fairly accurate portrayal of the kinds of challenges that many kids and parents go through in Korea, and I'm glad the creators were brave enough to tackle this thorny topic. Highly recommend if you want a glimpse into what Korean society is really like (for better or for worse lol)--just excuse the poor French that you sometimes hear being spoken in the series!
Reviews
3 Reviews
Extracurricular
(2020)
Boring, so much cussing, and gives an inaccurate picture of South Korea
2 January 2022
As someone of Korean descent who's watched K-dramas for many years, this is one of the worst ones I've seen. The only upside to watching this drama was it made me appreciate my parents more b/c there really are many deadbeat parents these days like Jisoo's father. Oh, and maybe seeing Choi Min-soo in a new role (he used to be one of Korea's leading heartthrobs back in the day). But that's it. There was wayyy too much cussing (the English subs actually don't include half of the cussing that goes on in the show--and many of the actual Korean cuss words are more vulgar than the English translations!--so imagine what it's like if you understand Korean and are trying to watch it). I know that many high school and college students in Korea cuss these days, but this show definitely goes overboard w/ unnecessary cussing (it was like Good Will Hunting on steroids). And the series makes it seem like the crimes that are depicted in the show are common in Korea, and while those sorts of things do happen, they are definitely nowhere near as common as what the drama would lead you to believe. Also, it's like the writer wanted to depict all Korean students as foul-mouthed troublemakers who spend all their time dating, having sex, playing sports and whiling away their time at a PC bang (internet cafe), which is definitely NOT the case for most high schoolers in Korea. The episodes weren't engrossing either, and the cussing was just too distracting for me--the whole story could've probably be summed up in just 3 or 4 episodes if you deleted all the cussing and unnecessary scenes. I get that Korean writers are encouraged and even pressured to come up with original, darker stories these days, but this one was poorly written and is a misleading portrayal of South Korea. I don't know why this series received so many positive reviews, but I'm sure most of them came from non-Koreans with little to no previous exposure to Korean culture or other K-dramas. Everyone has their own taste, so I won't stop you from watching it if you still want to, but just know that this drama is very different from 99% of K-dramas out there, the writing is bad (really bad if you understand Korean), there are a lot of plot holes and things that don't make any sense, and it paints an overly bleak and deceptive portrait of South Korean society.
A Werewolf Boy
(2012)
A heartwarming story that made even some middle-aged men cry
8 December 2012
Agree with the previous poster that the title is somewhat misleading--the title character isn't exactly your typical werewolf, and the movie isn't really a Korean version of Twilight (except for maybe one or two scenes in the movie that were somewhat reminiscent). Rather, it's an emotional love story that will make you laugh and cry at the same time and really pull at your heartstrings, like only a classic Korean romantic film knows how to do. I watched this at my local theater, and almost everyone cried at some point during the movie--most of the girls were bawling towards the end and I noticed that even many of the guys were crying (including some middle-aged men!). If you're going to see this movie, I highly recommend taking some tissues with you.
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