I started watching this online, but stopped because my preference has always been quality. So I waited until the DVD was released. The price is a bit high (like all drama box – Korean version), but I think it’s worth it. Since this is a long drama, MBC is releasing in three volume set. Volume 2 is being released on December 8th, 2009. I can’t wait for the release.

I was glued to the TV and was tempted to go online and watch the rest. BUT the MBC release DVD is great. The English subtitles is excellent and picture quality is like real life soap.

I highly recommend this drama to everyone. Even if you don’t like historic drama, you probably will after watching Queen Seondeok!

A biopic of Queen Seondeok, who was born a princess and later became the ruler of Silla, leaving behind many brilliant achievements.

During the Three Kingdoms period of Korea…
Deokman (Queen Seondeok’s childhood name) was born a twin but was abandoned as a baby. She was later brought back to the Silla palace, where she joined forces with her twin sister Princess Chonmyong to oppose Mi-shil, who wanted to seize power. Mi-shil devised sinister plans to have the two Silla princesses exiled from the kingdom, and in a secretive battle, Princess Chonmyong was assassinated by Mi-shil. But Princess Deokman shrewdly enlisted the help of General Kim Yusin and eliminated her archenemy Mi-shil. She became the first female ruler of the Silla kingdom.

Synopsis:

‘Loving You’ is a young love story set in Cheju Island. Da-lae is a strong girl who became the head of her family after her father’s death and after her mother collapsed from a heart ailment. Feeling guilty after the death of a friend, Hyuk works as a laborer in an orange growing farm while concealing his identity as the heir of a Chaebol. Da-lae and Hyuk overcome all kinds of obstacles that lie in front of them but suffer a setback when they realize that they are from two totally different worlds. However, Da-lae is a girl who doesn’t feel ashamed of her poor background as the daughter of a clamshell-diving worker, and feels she can confidently love the person who saved her despite his shabby appearance. Also, Hyuk proves to be a venturous young man who can boldly choose his life and search for his dream. Da-lae and Hyuk do not forget their feelings for each other during the storm that passes through their lives. These two people meet at sea during a storm and save each other. And the frame bar that Da-lae kept with her since that storm brings them together again. Da-lae realizes the fact that the person who rescued her one year ago is Hyuk and Hyuk realizes that the person who rescued him one year ago was Da-lae. Their love grows afterwards.

To better understand, Nine Tailed Fox (Gumiho) is a creature that appears in the oral tales and legends of Korea. According to those tales, a fox that lives a thousand years turns into a gumiho.

The drama stars Kim Tae-Hee, Jun Jin, Jo Hyun-Jae, Han Ye-Seul and Eom Tae-Woong. The overall story was good and the fighting scenes were up to par (don’t expect blood gushing). I watched all 16 episodes in 2 days.

Synopsis:

Shi Yeon (Kim Tae-Hee) is a Nine-Tailed Fox living undercover in the human world. By day, Shi Yeon is an employee at a natural history museum. By night, she’s a top-ranking woman warrior in the Nine-Tailed Fox clan, charged with preserving the delicate balance between man and fox. But her world is sent spinning when an atrocious serial murder, where the victims have had their internal organs gouged out is uncovered. Detective Min Woo (Jo Hyun-Jae) believes the murders may relate to the organ trafficking trade, and goes undercover in a seedy organ smuggling ring. But Min Woo’s cover is blown, and it’s only through the intervention Nine-Tailed Fox warrior Mu Young (Jun Jin) and Shi Yeon that he’s able to survive! But he’s seen their true identities as Nine-Tailed Foxes…can he be allowed to live?

You have the two main characters growing up together during their childhood and one family goes on to move away.  In their adulthood, they meet up and their destiny is questionable.

The ideal of them being arms dealer was a bit different, but the story had a decent flow to it.

Synopsis:

In the mid 1980s, Maria (Jang Jin-young) grows up in a quiet fishing village with Harry (Song Il-guk). Harry’s father died when a North Korean spy snuck into the country and shot him dead because he was an Army commander. Harry and his sister move to America after the incident. Maria’s family also migrate to America soon after and Maria’s father takes a job as a bus driver. While living happily in America, a mugger kills Maria’s father one day. Meanwhile, Harry meets Maria by coincidence. When his uncle sexually molests his sister Suzie, he decides to run away from home with his sister.

10 years later… Maria is 20 years old and works as a bus driver. Her sister Eva graduated from a prestigious American college and works at the naval intelligence agency in Washington D.C. One day, she meets Eva’s boyfriend Tae-hyuk (Han Jae-seok) and begins to develop feelings for him. While working at odd jobs throughout his life, Harry challenges the Mafia to save his sister Suzie. The Korean wife (Kim Mi-sook) of the Mafia boss is impressed with Harry and she offers to let him join the gang. Meanwhile, Maria learns that the FBI is investigating Eva because she is under suspicions of trying to steal sensitive military secrets. When her sister dies under mysterious circumstances, Maria’s whole life changes all of a sudden…

The producer decided to spice up the drama by adding special effects to the sorcerer’s magic. Even though this suppose to a historic story about the 19th king of Goguryeo, I enjoyed the touch of the special effects. The whole drama seems like a very long movie instead of a TV drama series.

Synopsis:

This drama portrays the life of the 19th king of Goguryeo. Jumong, the founder of Goguryeo, establish Goguryeo with his Four Gods: Cheong-ryong (Blue Dragon), Baek-ho (White Tiger), Joo-jak (Phoenix), Hyeon-mu (symbolized as a turtle). The Japanese may know them as Seiryuu, Byakko, Suzaku, and Genbu. Jumong marries Soseono, who had a big part in the founding of Goguryeo. They have two sons, Onjo and Biryu. When the son of Jumong’s first wife came to Goguryeo in search of his father, and is named Crown Prince, Soseono takes her sons, Onjo and Biryu, South and establishs Baekje. This is how Baekje and Goguryeo were known as “brother countries”.

As time passed, the Four Gods secluded themselves from society and watched as Baekje and Goguryeo’s relationship worsened (worsened more mainly because Goguryeo’s king was killed in a battle between Baekje and Goguryeo).

One day, Ju-ahn, “Hyeon-mu” of the Four Gods, sees two stars sour up into the sky. Since one came from the palace in Baekje, it predicted the birth of “Su”, later known as King Ah-shin. The other star came from Goguryeo, prophesizing the birth of Dam-deok, later known as Gwang Gae Toh Dae Wang.

Realizing that his new master has come to the world, Ju-ahn awaits in the vast Manchuria with a young girl, Sujini, to see which of the two will be his master. Sujini was picked up as an orphan by Ju-ahn and considers Ju-ahn as her father.

Therefore, the story is on the Four Gods looking for their master, Gwang Gae Toh Dae Wang, who was an expert in tactics, the woman he loved (Sujini), who was also loved by the coldhearted King Ah-shin.

Who was Dam-deok (Gwang Gae Toh Dae Wang)?: He was the 19th king of Goguryeo (lasted from 37 B.C. to 668 A.D.). During the time of Dam-deok, Goguryeo was the most powerful nation in East Asia (yes, even the Chinese dynasty couldn’t defeat Goguryeo). At age 11, he was made the Crown Prince and became King when he was 16. In 396, he attacked Baekje (a nation Southwest of Goguryeo) and took over the northern area above the Han River. He defeated the many invasions made by the Yeon Dynasty (China) after 400 A.D. During his reign, the number of castles he took over numbered in the hundreds and villages numbered in the thousands. However, he died at an untimely age of 39.

Synopsis:

This drama attempts to answer the question of whether two people — a famous actor and an ordinary woman — can learn to love each other in a marriage agreed upon only on paper. It also explores the meaning of the family by presenting no matter how hard the present may seem, the world is still a good place because of those who bring hopes into our lives through their presence alone.

This drama features diverse characters: considerate, caring, frank, patient, sticking to the life’s basic values. But no matter how different the personalities, everyone finds happiness in the end.

I didn’t even know the two main characters, Song Hye-Gyo and Lee Byung-Hyun. I was totally new to the Korean drama and had no clue about Korean actors and actresses (I only new a few K-Pop singers).

You know what really suck??? A while back, I was in Las Vegas and I was staying at the Venetian hotel. It was very late (or early morning) and I was playing Pai-Gow poker. I noticed the some tables were closed off and they were sitting up cameras and lighting equipment. I asked the pitboss what they were filming. She said it was an Asian movie that was being filmed there. Well, later after I watched All In, I found out that the filming was All In!!! If I had known, I would be waiting up to see Song Hye-Gyo in person!!

Synopsis:

In-ha (Lee Byung-hun) was born as an orphan and lived a rough childhood with his father’s friend who was a gambler.

Then, he meets Su-yeon (Song Hye-gyo) and falls in love with her. However, he is accused of a murder due to an incident and flees to the US. In L.A and Las Vegas he gets to know a poker professor and enters the gambling world.

He wins the international poker championship as a pro gambler and enters the hotel management and casino business.

While Su-yeon studies in the US, she receives Jung-won’s help and later marries him after a long courtship.

Eventually, In-ha returns to Korea, but Su-yeon’s heart aches for In-ha who suddenly appears. She had believed that In-ha was dead.

In-ha and Jung-won (Ji Seong) get entangled in a an once-in-a-lifetime battle…

Synopsis:

‘Dalja’s Spring’ is the story of Dalja, a 33-year old single at a crossroad of whether to remain single or get married before she gets older. The drama aims to comically and candidly portray the reality and undying pursuit of romance of a thirty something single woman.

The love triangle of Dalja, Taebong and Gijoong brews conflicts over love versus marriage. Taebong, a hunk six years younger than Dalja, works as substitute dates and becomes Dalja’s fake boyfriend. Gijoong is the type who dreams of an ideal and rational courtship. The drama also highlights the life and work of women in their thirties through Dalja who is a talented managing director at a home shopping channel.

Actress Chae Rim plays ‘Oh Dalja’ while actor Lee Min-gi is ‘Taebong,’ who freelances as a substitute date and develops feelings for his last client Dalja. Lee Hyeon-woo will play ‘Yeom Gijoong’ and Gong Hyeong-jin is cast for ‘Shin Sedo,’ a free romantist and Dalja’s ex. Actress Lee Hye-young plays ‘Wi Seon-joo,’ a 33-year-old home shopping show host with a brilliant sense in dating.

No wonder when people say you’ll get hooked on Korean TV drama, I thought that was just BS. Doh! I am so wrong. I am now hooked on Korean TV drama series!