I’m catching up to last year’s shows!

Characters:

• Kim Young Kwang as Kang Jin Goo (29)
• Kyung Soo Jin as Ma Se Young (26)
• Oh Jung Se as Goo Kwang Soo (39)
• Yoo Da In as Joo Da In (33)
• Yook Sung Jae as Kang Min Goo (19)
• Park Cho Rong as Han Soo Ah
• Choi Ro Woon as Kang Dong Goo (9)
• Lee Chae Mi as Jang Baek Ji (8)

Details:

• Korean
• 14 episodes
• Original run: Aug 29, 2014 – October, 11, 2014

Quick Rundown:

An overly superstitious mother never boats well for the rest of the family, but when things begin to take a turn for the worse, the Kang clan is wondering if mom is right that ages ending in nine are cursed. The story follows uncle Gu Kwang Soo, 39 and his nephews, Kang Jin Gu, 29, Kang Min Gu, 19, and finally Kang Dong Gu, 9 as they try to get through a series of misfortunes and also try their luck in the department of love.

Estelle’s Take

I know, this is WAYYYYYY over due, but I couldn’t help it! I was busy recapping shows after shows in the last couple of months that I haven’t had much time for anything else, especially when I’m jugging lots of different things in RL as well. Enough about me though, and let’s move on to well, my thoughts about this drama series!

If you were following our blog when this series first aired, then you would have caught my first impression post about it. After having caught up to it all this past week (which was super easy since there are only 14 episodes), much of my initial thoughts remain. While I don’t LOVE the series nearly as much as some other shows I’ve seen, and it isn’t the BEST tvN has to offer, especially because it pales in comparison to Reply 1997 and Misaeng, it stayed true to what I have come to expect and love about tvN. This series has heart, and a whole lot of it. It stays away from unnecessary makjang, and remains completely delightful from beginning to the end.

I enjoyed watching the different age groups and their love stories. It was pleasant to see how each relationship played out, from meeting to falling in love to realizing the problems and to figuring out what’s best for them, whether it is staying together or apart. Yes, not all the couples stayed together, but I liked it exactly for that – being realistic. I don’t need the lovers to remain in love for me to know they once loved. Couples don’t always work out no matter how much we ship them, and I applaud the writers for trying to portray just that.

A part of me wish this series was longer so we could explore in more depth each of the characters. Or maybe instead of seeing all the couples in every episode, it would have been better to have episodes focused primarily on one couple. I finished this series wanting more and as if I didn’t get the whole picture that I had been waiting for, but maybe this is a good thing after all; no one really wants to watch a show that drags us along needlessly for episodes after episodes of nonsense.

Should you watch it? I would say yes. Should you watch it right this minute? Maybe not if you are already engrossed in something else at the moment. I would keep it in the top five series to watch next, but if you never get around to it, it’s not too big a deal either. One thing I must say though, is that the soundtrack is great! I loved all the indie songs in it, and had I watched it earlier, it might have been a contender for our Best Drama OST 2014!

This & That:

• Kim Young Kwang debuted as a model and was the first Asian model to walk for Dior Homme. He recently played second fiddle in Pinocchio opposite Park Shin Hye and Lee Jong Suk. He is currently in a short web series opposite Sandara Park called Dr. Ian. The series premiered on March 29 on Naver TV in Korea and Youku in China.
• Choi Ro Woon, who plays the adorable nine year old brother, is in MBC series Queen’s Flower airing now.
• Kyung Soo Jin has moved on to 50 episode long drama House of Bluebird, playing a writer and Lee Joon Hyuk’s onscreen girlfriend.
• Kim Mi Kyung, the superstitious mom in this, also plays ahjummas in Healer, Blade Man and right now, Super Daddy Yeol. She sure is busy!
• Yook Sung Jae is in Korean boy band BtoB.
• Park Cho Rong is in Korean girl band APink, which was a favorite of fictional character, Jang Kang Seok, in Grandpa Over Flowers Investigation Team.
• There was a scandal surrounding plagiarism of a script named 9th Exit by writer Lee Jung Joo in October.