My Name is Kim Sam Soon「REVIEW」

Title:  내 이름은 김삼순 / My Name Is Kim Sam Soon or known as My Lovely Sam Soon

Genre: Romance,Comedy

Episodes: 16

Broadcast network: MBC

Broadcast period: 2005-Jun-01 to 2005-Jul-21

Air time: Wednesday & Thursday 21:55

Notable Cast:

Kim Sun-ah as Kim Sam-soon

Hyun Bin as Hyun Jin-heon

Jung Ryu Won as Yoo Hee Jin

Daniel Henry as Dr. Henry Kim

● For more info about the series including a sypnosis, extended cast and episode ratings, click here.


REVIEW:
Rating: 8.3/10

I just finished watching this series a couple of days ago. Considering its huge popularity (with viewership ratings peaking at 53.4% in Seoul and about 50% nationwide), the drama definitely shouldn’t be considered overrated.

The Good Points:

• The plotline is simple but interesting because it centres around a single middle-aged woman who doesn’t hold much ‘love-at-first-sight’ charm and her values/understandings about relationships.  When I think about the actual plot itself, it seems common but there is something about this drama that makes it seem unique. It’s probably the way the characters deal with what’s thrown at them that makes it seem good.
•  The chosen cast is good. All the actors played their characters well; no-one was too forced, superficial or overly exaggerated.
• The script is well-written. I honestly haven’t seen any other drama that has composed lines that are more well-worded than this. Particularly Sam Soon’s character, it’s not those typical female characters that always stay silent and make you annoyed because they either don’t express themselves enough when there is a misunderstanding or just reply back with some nonsense response merely because they’re angry at their opponent. The words chosen in her script make the character seem believable and not so naïve which makes it relatable a lot of the times. That can also be due to the fact she’s 30, but still I’ve seen watched other characters that age, it’s not the same. In summary, her lines make sense so I’d be nodding a lot of the times with her.
• The characters have depth and are quite believable. I wouldn’t praise so much on Hyun Bin’s character, Jin Hun because it’s the typical selfish president that becomes more caring one they’ve fallen for the girl - not that he didn’t play the part well though. But again, Sun-ah plays her role very well because her acting isn’t forced and exaggerated to any degree, even in the most dramatic scenes yet is realistic enough. With Hee-jin who is a civil, and good-natured girl, Jung Ryu Won plays her part quite well. Her character is believable because even though she’s kind, her jealousy and actions make her seem real as she is neither the innocent and foolish ex nor the nasty, evil one; she’s just human. Her English is fluent making her character more pleasing to watch even though it doesn’t have anything to do with the acting. Usually I don’t have much empathy for third party characters since they appear like a cockblock to the focus relationship to me but in this drama, Hee-jin’s character has made me actually feel guilt for her that Jin Hun chose Sam Soon over her. I also think her acting is quite natural and laid-back; same with Daniel Henney as Henry. They both have good chemistry and their friendship is quite cute. No main character in this series is annoying and I think they all work together very well; the characters deal with their conflicts in an assertive, mature yet sophisticated manner but it’s still touching.
•   I really loveeee the OST here! This is very opiniated since I love blues, bossa nova and all that but Clazziquai’s song ‘She Is’ is soothing but adds to the tension in the dramatic scenes. The song ‘Farewell without Farewell’ by Jisun is usually played in the scenes when Hee-jin is left hurt/rejected and I think it’s a lovely choice because the synths in this is partly the reason why I feel this drama makes her feelings as third party seem more important and pitiful than the usual. It’s a track that makes the scene more moving. 
•  The series makes me laugh every now and then. The funny scenes are entertaining because there are none of those plain idiotic scenes because the characters have thoughts of a 10 year old or the like; it’s just those unexpected moments when some accident out of the blue happens or the character’s reaction is just plain hilarious. I’d say the amount of humour in this drama is mild, but it’s entertaining.

             The Bad Points:

•  I don’t know if the character was meant to be crafted that way or if it’s just Hyun Bin but Jin Hun definitely developed his love and sacrifice to Sam Soon too hastily. We are meant to know that he has already developed feelings for her even though he was still in denial beforehand but right after his confession to her, his heart-warming approach and dedication for her just peaked too quickly; would have been more believable if it was abit slower. A lot of times I felt uncomfortable and literally did the “D:” face because it just seemed too fast. The same thing goes to his relationship with Hee-jin. He suddenly dropped his interest for her right after he declared his love to Sam-soon.
• The plotline of this drama makes it seem like cheating isn’t such a bad thing and is forgiveable. No it is not! A lot of dramas implement the success of cheating and just because the character isn’t evil, it isn’t okay LOL.
•  I couldn’t really see any apparent reason as to why Jin-hun started liking Sam-soon. The chemistry was good and all but thinking realistically, liking someone like her for his position seemed a little strange because she wasn’t particularly clinging on to him nor was leaving him a good impression every time they met during the beginning episodes. He fell in love with her too easily and that seemed a little incomprehensive.
•   It took about half an hour into the first episode before it got interesting because the break-up scene in the beginning was just very unnecessarily long.
•  I was captivated to the series from it’s early stages and was somewhat hooked throughout when it got more interesting towards the middle but right in the last episode, I felt like it wasn’t a concluding episode. It felt like just another episode. Maybe because things were resolved slightly too easily and quickly towards the end, but I do love the very last scene though :D

Conclusion:

This series contributed to a big impact on the Hallyu wave and is definitely one I recommend. It’s not the best I’ve seen but to many it is. It’s a cute, unique series that is worth watching if you’re seeking for good non-typical characterisation. I personally think it’s cute; characters’ chemistry, setting, OST…everything falls in place and nothing annoys me much as a viewer. There are no face palming moments that I remember. It’s left me a good impression and is something I wouldn’t mind watching again after a few months or so. 

MNIKSS Promo Trailer by honeynutcheerios