Lie To Me (Korean)

I've watched over a couple dozen K-dramas by now and my enjoyment of them is almost directly proportional on how well they portray women. I understand it is too much to expect every female lead to be a feminist pioneer like in “Sungkyunkwan Scandal” or an adorable but strong woman like in “My Lovely SamSoon” or “Coffee Prince.” If the female lead starts out super fluffy I give it a few episodes until I can't take any more "What to do?! What to do?!s" and stuffed animals. I don't mind it if I see there's going to be at least some character growth. Also, Manic Pixie Dream Girls turn me off big time.

"Lie to Me" while not the best example of how to portray a normal, professional female protagonist she is entirely redeemable. She has very childlike qualities, and even the male lead points out that her immaturity is one of his turn-ons (at which point I rolled my eyes). But it was refreshing to actually see Gong Ah Jung do her job, and do it well. She isn't marriage-obsessed, but is sensitive to her single status. She has a great relationship with her father. Her dad is caring but not all up in her business (although usually in K-dramas it's the mom/female leader of the clan that is excessively nosy and the father just goes along with it if he cares at all). The father has a life too, and we see an amusing portrayal of an older couple romance. As for the other women, if you act “too” professional and like a mature woman, you will be written as devoid of any personality (like the stiff Manager Park Ji Yoon). If you are "just a wife" like the lead's frenemy you become obsessed with gossip, appearances, and are portrayed as constantly jealous until perhaps [SKIP THE REST OF THIS PARAGRAPH- SPOILER ALERT] you calm down with a kid. Yoon Joo, the girlfriend that comes back from Paris, was annoying since she supposedly had this fulfilling life in France but decides to come back to see if she can rekindle her relationship (after being dumped 3 years ago, WTF) with the lead Hyun Ki Joon. Worse, she continues to try even after realizing that her ex is happy with another. She has all this creative talent that’s firmly hidden under layers of man-obsession. A man, I would add, that actually throws temper tantrums (who's immature now, Mr. CEO?) that he gets away with by wearing cute flowers pinned to his lapel.Thankfully Gong Ah Jung starts acting like a normal woman, less childish, and more focused on what she wants which is why I kept watching. Yes, and I like looking at pretty people too. I also enjoyed the older couple secondary love triangle. There is a family member of Hyun Ki Joon's that was practically useless but thankfully mostly became background. The cafe singer was too funny and had some great lines. I'm sure they were even greater in Korean, though.As for the plot itself, what was a simple amusing story of a white lie gone rampant turns into this convoluted issue that threatens to tear down a whole corporate empire. There's a reason this is called drama, I suppose... If you can get past that as I did and also the fact that this whole drama seemed like it was penned at the Korean Tourism ministry, then it's fairly enjoyable. Just be aware that there are tons more Korean soaps out there for you to enjoy.Last but not least, the terrible acting by foreign extras gives me hope that one day I too can be on a Korean drama.

then the show gets a bit over-the-top with the romance, crossing over almost into the melodramatic side. Still this show holds up to a re-watch and has these funny moments throughout some will have you rolling with laughter.

This is my fourth Kdrama. I thought it has a "My Lovely Sam Soon" feel to it (like the contract, girlfriend/fiance came back after 3 years, they played the song over the rainbow, piggyback). Overall, I enjoyed watching it! There's not a lot of hitting, wrist grabbing and pulling (this one has more holding hands, and the lead actor rarely screams, which is sweet) like in My Lovely Sam Soon :) Try watching it, after 4the episode, it will be more interesting (you might enjoy the cola scene too) and you wouldn't want to stop watching. :) I was bored at first, but after a couple of episodes more, the lead actor kinda grew on me...I started liking him in Episode 6 (the karaoke/first kiss scene) :) I ended up watching 16 episodes in less than 24 hours.

I found this to be one of the most boring Korean Drama I've seen in awhile. I saw all the great reviews and had hope it would be another great drama but instead it dragged and I even ended up skipping scenes because it felt very contrived. The main actress voice annoyed me after awhile and I found nothing enduring about her character. All the other characters (friends and co-workers scenes) were all tossed as fillers without any rhyme or reason. Don't waste your time on this one!