Rody reviews kdramas / #5 “Secret Garden”

I’m back with one of my favorite dramas ever, after watching it for the third, here I am writing a review.

Secret Garden is a mass collection of fantasy with drama with romance, it was released in 2010, though there are some shows with the same concept “switching bodies” no remakes or sequels have been made (sadly for me!)

• General info:

Title: Secret Garden
Also known as: 시크릿 가든
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Fantasy, Melodrama
Episodes: 20

• Synopsis:

The drama tells the story of Gil Ra Im, a poor and humble stunt woman whose beauty and body are the object of envy amongst top actresses, and Kim Joo Won, 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. To complicate matters further, a strange sequence of events results in them swapping bodies.

 

• Characters:

Gil Ra Im: The beautiful, independent and proud stuntwoman. She lost her firefighter dad when she was 17, and lost her mother earlier. She lives depending on herself and her work at the action school. She’s somehow very thick-headed at times but she’s the first heroine to really stand up for the evil rich mother (she only gave in once!), she’s really strong. I liked her, she has to be my favorite heroine of all. But she’s got that something, that though she’s suffering she won’t tell, and that resulted in many troubles already. I loved her to pieces, she can cute and all tomboy-ish too.

 

Kim Joo Won: The blunt, rude, claustrophobic, and romantic CEO, he’s got to be the best guy ever, at first he’s this rude ruthless guy and then he turns into the sweetest guy ever (with the funniest reactions too!). I love how he and Ra Im have his “fate” between the two of them, they met once and 13 years later, they meet again to fall in love. He’s persistent, gives it his all, and once he’s in love you can’t shake him off (and he has the most evil mother of all, I hate her!).

 

Choi Woo Young / Oska: The famous Hallyu star, and Joo Won’s cousin. He’s Ra Im’s idol and later on becomes her “fairy godmother”, he’s really sweet and at some point he really likes Ra Im, but he has his own love story. He’s funny, a little bit of a playboy (though in a cute way), and very caring. I certainly wish that all idols were like him.

 

Yoon Seul: the director, Oska’s past girlfriend and his love interest, they broke up because of his behavior, at a time when all he cared about was his pride, but when they met again after years, their reconciliation made him reconsider his relations with people and her and she starts to change him to become a better person. She later directs his MV and helps with his album release. She actually starts off as a bitch that mistreats Ra Im, but as the show goes on she becomes really sweet (she dresses the best too!).

 

Im Jong Soo / The Director: The Action school director and a father figure to Ra Im, though he has an unrequited love for her, that Joo Won notices. He’s very protective of her and disapproves of her choice in working as a stuntwoman but he understands that Action is her everything. He has his funny moments (when he’s drunk 😀 )

 

Im Ah Young & Secratery Kim: my second favorite couple after Joo Won and Ra Im, they’re too sweet! Secratery Kim is the goofball who is head over heels for Sweet, cute over-confident Ah Young, they acted so well that I was really rooting for them in the end.

• Acting:

The confrontation

It was really apparent that Hyun Bin & Ha Ji Won were really comfortable with each other, as there weren’t any awkwardness in their scenes (which I loved). Hyun Bin is amazing, at the start you could hate how he’s such a cold guy, and in the end he’s CRYING for Ra Im and you end up crying with him, and the way he acted Claustrophobia in the elevator was magnificent. He’s AMAZING. Ji Won is an amazing actress, no wonder she’s one of the top actresses in Korea, she could be sweet, romantic, and tough. For me, the new discoveries were Sang Hyun & In Na, this was my first watching their acting and they did great job. Also Lee Philip was amazing as a director suffering from unrequited love; I felt so sorry for him.

• Is it funny?

This is NOT what it seems 😀

All of the switching bodies’ episodes were extremely hilarious! It was fun watching Ra Im act all manly, while Joo Won gets to be so polite. Also Secretary Kim & Oska are two funny guys. Joo Won also was so funny especially at the beginning, when he didn’t understand why he kept thinking of Ra Im (and his little tongue-twister).

 

• Is it Romantic/Tear-Jerking?

😥

Very Romantic, Joo Won is really a prince, even when he lose his memories he still get to be sweet to Ra Im in his own way, their love is invincible. As for the tears, prepare yourself for a big dose of crying in the later episodes, Heartaches warning.

❤

• Soundtrack:

The background music for starters is so sweet, not to mention the songs are incredible. Some of the best tracks are “That Woman” by Baek Ji Young, “You’re My Spring” by Sung Si Kyung, “Reason” by 4MEN … You know what? The whole soundtrack is magnificent!! It’s a must listen, you shouldn’t miss a soundtrack as amazing as this one!

• Hotness Level / Style:

For hotness I can say that Hyun Bin is sure one sweet eye candy, also Lee Jong Suk who played the pretty boy with attitude problems, Han Tae Ssun. As for style I can say the same except for one thing, Hyun Bin’s tracksuits, they’re too flashy and not stylish AT ALL. On the other hand he looks the hottest in suits and his style is really amazing. Ji Won wears some comfy clothes, but In Na got some cute outfits. The prize for best style goes to Kim Sa Rang for her luxurious outfits. Also Sang Hyun was dressed like a typical Hallyu star which is a good thing.

Super flashy tracksuits 😀

• Moments to Remember:

Cappuccino Kiss~

Too much moments to remember (a slideshow of some of them), also I’ll leave you with a photo spam to prove it.

 

 

• Did it end well?

The ending was sweet, Joo Won and Ra Im got married, had three adorable babies. But they never had a wedding because of his mother disapproval (I would’ve liked it if they just ignored her, I would’ve loved to see a wedding scene!). It ended happily for everyone too, even the director. It’s also sweet to show how they’re “destined to be together” , as they met 13 after their first meeting at Ra I’ms father funeral.

13 years ago~ “Aww”

 

• Rating: 5/5, it’s a perfect drama, and the twists of fantasy and body switching added more comedy and humor. It’s totally recommended.