ok i started out loving it then i ended up not. i agree that it is written well in the sense that it might be more realistic than most. BUT i couldn't stand that she let this happen to herself. the men in this drama were bent on ruining someone else all because they couldn't have what they each wanted. i wanted to scream at the TV!

Bokgu wants revenge over something he knows nothing about, the rich guy wants to ruin her because she won't marry him when it was his fault in the first place that they were put in that scandal, Minku left her because of her becoming famous and what her step-mother said to him which ruined her chances for happiness - then comes back only to be a little violent, her dad let this happen because he's a weakling and allows his wife to rule over everything, her siblings were a joke and materialistic, the rich guy's dad wanted her life ruined because she didn't want to marry his son. and she never once stood up for herself and let these people ruin everything she had and was - all for the love of a man who never even really treated her nicely.

i thought Rain did a good job as a tough guy but there wasn't too much endearing about these characters for me.

I just finished watching it.....all I can say is WOW!

See I saw it as living with the choices you make in life. Each character did that in some way.
The series kept you guessing at who/what/where in the scheme of their lives.
I thought it was well written.

Rain as Bokgu was gut wretching. He was incredible as an actor. And I agree with the Queen...wow, he really showed a maturity as an actor with this one.

Plus he showed lots of skin....oh yeah...I oved that part. Da boy is FINE!

The ending.....was as it should have been. I have found a favorite!

Chris wrote:

I just finished watching it.....all I can say is WOW! See I saw it as living with the choices you make in life. Each character did that in some way. The series kept you guessing at who/what/where in the scheme of their lives. I thought it was well written. Rain as Bokgu was gut wretching. He was incredible as an actor. And I agree with the Queen...wow, he really showed a maturity as an actor with this one. Plus he showed lots of skin....oh yeah...I oved that part. Da boy is FINE! The ending.....was as it should have been. I have found a favorite!

Karma to you, Chris...now we share a favorite!

let me borrow your glasses then because i think i was watching a different version than you!!!

i felt the opposite - i didn't think she made a single decision for herself & that's where i started to not like this drama. she let every man in her life push her around and do what they wanted with her and she just let them. c'mon she sat on those stairs to his house so much that i couldn't believe she was willing to freeze to death for him!! and i didn't even cry at the end and i cry at hallmark commercials!!

i do think rain did a great job as an actor but i did not like his character too much - which proves he did his job well i think.
(he looked the best as her bodyguard with that dark black haircut - yummeeeee)

i wish i had liked this one more

It's that funny Jenn.....
I don't think she let the men in her life push her around.
I do think she let her stepmother push her around.
The stepmom really knew how to use guilt well.
And she sat on those steps...because she WAS willing to freeze to death to prove her point.

And yes I agree....in the suit with the blue black hair....
Or with the bit off scruff on his face.....yummmmy!

So glad to find others who saw and shared insights into this drama. I also thought it was one of the better dramas (admittedly I have only seen about a dozen.) This was the second time I saw Rain, the first being on a game show without subtitles, where he looked like a not-too-bright 17 year old kid. So this was a (very pleasant) eye opener for me. I agree that the writing was also good and wish that they had developed the various relationships more, especially between the main characters. But that may be me just wanting more. I don't think that Cha Eun Seok was necessarily manipulated or weak. Even with her stepmother, she knew that she was providing her family with the good life they were leading. Perhaps she was weakened by just having been abandoned by her boyfriend. Abandonment is the theme repeated often and in every one of the main (and in some of the semi-main characters.) BTW was Mi Sook there only to be another target for Da Jung's bitterness?) I could not think of a word for the second theme, but Manny hit it right on the nose with choices and responsibilities. Even to do nothing involves a choice/decision. I also don't think that Cha Eun Seok did not want to freeze to death. Why else would she have the talisman in her hand when he found her? Sad that her own private heating pad was unable to save the couple. When she was on the step freezing, that was her way of trying to find out where Kang Min Goo was (and a show of her budding (?) determination.)

Thank you if you've read through the discourse (I have no one else around me who is interested in Kdramas, if you can believe that.) By the way, I watched ALTK, all or in part, well over a dozen times, and before that, Resurrection. Can anyone recommend a good light, comedic even, drama. I have already seen Kim Sam Soon the requisite dozen times. It would be much appreciated.