Secret Garden

I expect myself to have long suffering withdrawal of Secret Garden (SBS, 20 episodes)…

Secret Garden Synopsis: (from DramaWiki)
The drama tells the story of Kim Joo Won (Hyun Bin), an arrogant and eccentric CEO who maintains the image of seeming perfection, and Gil Ra Im (Ha Ji Won), a poor and humble stuntwoman whose beauty and body are the object of envy amongst top actresses. 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.

Cast:
Hyun Bin as Kim Joo Won
Ha Ji Won as Gil Ra Im
Yoon Sang Hyun as Choi Woo Young/Oska (Joo Won's cousin)
Kim Sa Rang as Yoon Seul
Lee Philip as Im Jong Soo
Lee Jong Suk as Han Tae Ssun
Yoo In Na as Im Ah Young

My comments:
Funny, I was totally invested in Secret Garden and I’ll probably have withdrawal for a very long time but is this drama going to be in my top 10? I still don't think it will be. I loved this drama before the body swapping part. Hyun Bin and Ha Ji Won’s chemistry is so sizzling since the first episode and the tension between them…whoa! I think this particular scene in episode 3 will be a classic moment for a lot of fans (I melted while watching it too :p). While the post body swapping parts were hilarious, I thought it didn’t help a lot in plot development because the characters didn’t learn anything from that bizarre occurrence at first. Joo Won remains the same and so is Ra Im and it didn’t change much to the ones around them. But then the body swapping was used in its full dramatic purpose and who didn’t shed tears in episodes 17-18? However, the resolution of the body swapping was simply bleh.

Besides the the enjoyable bickering between the lead couple, I did like how Joo Won and Oska kept pushing each other’s buttons but deep down, they care deeply for each other. Ra Im is a badass stuntwoman and has the attitude but when facing Joo Won and his mom sometimes she’s really a doormat. I thought that Yoon Seul would just be like any secondary lead in K-dramas, witchy and mean until the end but I’m pleasantly surprised that’s not the case. She is wearing that mask to cover her vulnerability and how I wish that she and Oska would stop hurting each other. While no one was evil (well, Joo Won’s mom was annoying though) nor was perfect but I just ended up adoring the five of them.

Hyun Bin was such a pleasure to watch in this drama. From his arrogant, snobbish CEO persona (his over obsession of European designer sportswear…haha!) to slightly exaggerated feminine shy awkwardness when Ra Im is trapped in his body to using childish and jealous antics when he’s completely smitten over Na Im were so spot on. It’s too bad that when he reached another peak of his career now that he has to fulfill his military duties. While Ra Im is a very likeable character, but besides her career as a stuntwoman, she was just boring compared to the other characters. Ha Ji Won can easily play this character in her sleep since I know how capable she is. I saw some Yoon Sang Hyun and Kim Sa Rang’s works before and in Secret Garden, they were very good as well as they had more character development than usual secondary leads. I'm so looping this song right now...

His precious Italian hand-stitched designer sport jacket that has him exasperated when everyone doesn't share his appreciation...hehe...!

* Opening credit of the drama