[TV Show Review] Secret Garden (Sikeurit Gadeun 2010-2012)
Plot Summary: The drama tells the story of love story between Gil Ra-im and Kim Joo-won. Gil Ra-im is a poor but proud stunt woman who has supported herself since her father's death. Joo-won is an arrogant and eccentric CEO who maintains the image of seeming perfection. Their accidental meeting, when Joo-won mistakes Ra-im for actress Park Chae-rin, marks the beginning of a tense, bickering relationship, through which Joo-won tries to hide a growing attraction to Ra-im that both confuses and disturbs him.
Producer: Lee Min-jeong
Director(s): Shin Woo Chul, Kwon Hyuk Chan
Writer: Kim Eun-sook
Runtime: 60 mins/episode
Original Channel: Seoul Broadcasting System - South Korea
Main Cast:
- Ha Ji-won as Gil Ra-im
- Hyun Bin as Kim Joo-won
- Yoon Sang-hyun as Choi Woo-young/Oska
- Kim Sa-rang as Yoon Seul
Review: by Lee
Every Friday night, my buddy and I get together for dinner, K-Drama, and anime. While looking for a new drama to watch, I stumbled across a website that provided some much needed suggestions. At the top of the list was Secret Garden. Now I know why.
What I Liked
Secret Garden is an amazing drama. I enjoyed everything about it, from the cinematography to the secondary and tertiary characters. There are not many negative things I would be able to say about such a fantastic series.
The cinematography is top notch, a much better quality than I was expecting. The special effects could get a bit cheesy at times, but they hardly detracted from the show.
The acting was believable, considering the supernatural circumstances of the plot. The stand-out star would have to be Hyun Bin as Kim Joo-Won. His crippling claustrophobic scenes were beyond intense and very compelling, and the scenes in which Gil Ra-Im and Kim Joo-Won had switched bodies were absolutely convincing. Also, his English is pretty spot on.
The acting and writing coupled to bring to life some of my favorite characters of all time. Kim Sa-Rang as Yoon Seul did a wonderful job of making me hate her, but forced me throughout the drama to not only respect her but eventually cheer her on. Not to mention, her wardrobe was impressive. I found myself wanting to buy her coats, shoes, and dresses. She was quite fashionable. Yoon Sang-Hyun as Oska made me fall in love with his childish charms, stealing the show in all of his scenes.
The tertiary characters were not to be counted out, however wonderful the primary and secondary characters were. The stunt members in Gil Ra-Im’s group were hilarious and really added to the story.
Finally, the story itself was delightful. It may be a bit far-fetched, but the viewer is too sucked into the budding romance to be bothered by the incredulous nature of the events. The story was a classic retelling of the age old story of a rich man falling in love with a poor woman. All of the traditional roadblocks were present, even the interfering mother that is so common to Korean dramas, but everything was exacerbated by the fact that Gil Ra-Im and Kim Joo-Won kept switching bodies.
One last thing I have to add, I loved Kim Joo-Won’s nursery rhyme that he chanted to himself to try to take his mind off of Gil Ra-Im. It frequently gets stuck in my head.
What I Didn’t Like
Nothing. There was nothing I did not like about Secret Garden. I could watch it over and over. As a matter of fact, I just found something I didn’t like. There wasn’t enough of it. I could easily have followed the story for a few more seasons, but that’s the American in me.
Summary
Secret Garden is easily my favorite Korean drama so far. That is saying a lot because I really enjoyed You’re Beautiful. I cannot say enough how much I enjoyed it.
User Review
( votes)You can purchase Secret Garden from Amazon here:
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