Yr/TV Stn: 2011/KBS
Cast:
Han Ye Seul ~ Han Myung Wol
Eric ~ Kang Woo
Lee Jin Wook ~ Choi Ryu
Jang Hee Jin ~ Joo In Ah
Synopsis: (edited from Soompi)
An elite beautiful North Korean spy Han Myung Wol is on a mission to infiltrates South Korea to kidnap a popular Hallyu star Kang Woo, but she ends up falling in love with him. Despite being the elite spy, Myung Wol's curiosities tends to get the better of her. Accompany and assist Myung-wol with her mission to South Korea is Choi Ryu, a top notch officer in the North Korean army. Joo Ah In, a heiress who is as famous as Kang Woo, stands in the way when Kang Woo and Myung Wol fall in love with each other.
Slacker's review:
"Myung Wol" had a good start with my beautiful country as the stage. (You'll get to see the usual tourist attractions of SG, and watch Kang Woo swims at the world's highest swimming pool in MBS).
The pace was rather fast, with Myung Wol trying to get close to Kang Woo; Kang Woo buying a secret book which Choi Ryu is also interested in; Myung Wol becoming an actress; both Kang Woo & Choi Ryu feeling something for Myung Wol; In Ah's grandfather is the mastermind etc....
The drama's developments turn out to be typical, but it's still quite entertaining. Come to the middle of the drama, the whole Han Ye Seul saga occurred, with our lead actress flew to LA & returned to Korea in 2 days time. At one time, ppl thought KBS gotta find a new actress, and the drama became "well-known" in an odd way.
The drama plot actually was better after the whole saga, and somehow we cld relate the storyline to the real life event...lolz! (Are the scriptwriters trying to hint something?) Chemistry b/w HYS & Eric was a little awkward, but they got better as the plot moved on. The drama's ending was quite...crappy. It's too rushed and they tried too hard to make it a nice one. I rather the spies MIA....ha!
Shld I be disappointed with HYS's etiquette for leaving the drama half way? Well, as a professional actress, be it how justified her reasons were, she shld nt leave the production. The cast and other folks waited hours and hours for her to return to the set. We are already in episode 11 and the lead actress just left without explanation! I felt sad for Eric and the rest. I'm glad she came back in the end, but her reputation was tarnished...
HYS's portrayal of Myung Wol was nice, and she's very convincing in her role. I liked how Myung Wol's down to earth, and how innocent she was. Nice chemistry with Eric's Kang Woo. Liked their scenes and conversations.
Eric did save the drama somehow, and Kang Woo is one of his best roles to date. At one hand, Kang Woo was an arrogant fella, but on the other hand, he cld be selfless for his loved one. I think I prefer Eric as an actor than a rapper of Shinhwa now. Oops!
Lee Jin Wook's Choi Ryu is a super woody guy here, and LJW's acting might be too stiff to me. We saw how Ryu opened up slowly, but he's too "robotic". I thought LJW was kinda restricted with this role.
Jang Hee Jin's In Ah is damn irritating, but her acting was ok. I nv liked In Ah so I skipped lots of her scenes. It's funny to see how In Ah felt about Ryu in the end. She likes him lo~! Hahaha!!
Ost was not bad, and the theme song by Lena Park was super nice!
