When I read the synopsis I seriously had no idea what to expect from this drama. An actor playing seven different personalities sounded like a really messy idea to me but at the same time I was really curious about how they'll pull it off. But once I started this drama, there was no looking back. The story just plunges you in, in the very first episode. Every character, every personality is just so wonderfully played. And at the centre of them all is Ji Sung. What a fabulous actor! He played all seven personalities with such conviction and so individualistically. Such a powerful performance, I have no words. Shin Se Gi, Perry Park, Ahn Yo Na, Ahn Yo Sub, they were all such awesome characters. My favorite was definitely Yo Na (I've replayed her scenes so many times but they're still so funny! Never a dull moment with her) but Shin Se Gi comes very close too (who doesn't love a sincere and protective bad boy?). Oh Ri Jin was equally awesome! She was so cute and not one-bit annoying. I love the actress! The rest of the cast was awesome, except for the cousin and his fiancee. They were annoying and unnecessary. But I guess it doesn't hurt to have a couple of characters to hate in a drama.
I think another bonus in this drama was the humor. I mean, seriously, every episode was hilarious. So basically I was either laughing my ass off or crying with all my guts. And that's the best recipe for a great drama. It was beautiful.
As for the OST, it definitely ranks on my top-15 OST of all time (if not top 10). Auditory Hallucination is like my drama-song of the year already. It's so catchy and the lyrics are so meaningful. I could probably write an entire review gushing about the song. The rest of the songs are beautiful too. I love Unspeakable Secret and Violet (by Ji Sung!).
Overall this drama is a masterpiece (the current rank says it all - #4!) and a must-watch for Ji Sung and Hwang Jung Eum fans. Especially the ones who loved them together in Secret. Even though the two dramas are extremely different in tone and theme, the chemistry between the two actors is equally good in both. And for those who haven't watched Secret before this, watch this and then go check out Secret! You won't regret watching either.
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I seriously didn't expect the show to live up to expectations of as high as an overall grade of 9/10, but it freaking did. KMHM has the perfect balance between a super funny rom-com, and a super dramatic and complicated melodrama with a lot of suspense. A HUGE congrats to the writers for pulling this off, i doubted them a lot of times, and each time i was blasted away! Let the endless praise begin:
STORY
The Story talks about psycological traumas, and how the human mind tries to work them out, to help us live better and/or cope with them. The main point of the story is that we need to adress and care about our problems, face them and try to fix them before they become too big, ignoring them isn't the answer, and if sometimes those problems and fears are too huge for us to handle, there are people there who are willing to help us get through them because they love us. Love is basically the answer.
KMHM is such a carefully crafted, beautifully written and brilliantly executed drama, however, the show's main idea about the multiple personality disorder, isn't anything new, it has been done before many times, but that doesn't make this show any less perfect! We basically have the main protagonist with this syndrome who comes back to Korea (without really wanting to) to become the new head CEO of his family's company. He, of course, needs to keep his problem a secret, and since his personalities become too powerful for him to handle, he needs a special private doctor to pay close attention to him and help him, here the female protagonist gets introduced. I am not gonna say anything more, this is your base story. But don't fool yourself, nothing is as simple as it may seem.
Probably the best thing about the show was the way it was developed. First of all, things are complicated everywhere, complicated situations in his life, in his work, in himself, everywhere. In his work, there are people who want to take him out and take the family company for themselves (the family relations are amazing and so real, i have no words!). There is a huge, huge, HUGE, backstory here, and an amazing one that gets explored little by little. Here we don't have the usual 'rom-com for the first 10 episodes, and then 3-4 episodes of shocking revealings', the backstory gets revealed a little by little in every episode, transforming the show into a mystery. And then, when you think you know the story and you are the king of the show, the writers sneak behind your back and they change everything, literally, everything. I sit here appauding the writers for literally twisting everything, leaving me speechless several times over the episodes, and yet pulling everything together in the end without any plot holes or ridiculous plot choices. The plot is really well-thoughts and developed. Congrats to the writers for the flawless job they did!
Moreover, i need to praise,the comedy part of the show. Usually it is easy for the shows to make me burst into tears than make me laugh, i rarely find things i see funny except for a few chuckles here and there. KMHM had me laughing out loud throughout the episodes, i was shocked myself, but the comedy here is extremely on point, the actors and especially the female lead, know their shit when it comes to comedy, you will laugh your heart out and then cry your heart out with the same characters! This is how awesome this show is.
The only, tiny problem i had was that i felt the rom-com part got kind of dragged at some point. It wasn't that i was bored, not even close, but at some point there were some unnecessary things happening just to fill some episodes. I blame the 20 episode order, kdramas rarely can pull off 20 episodes. KMHM wasn't bad and it pulled 20 episodes well, but it could have worked even better if the order was 16. Basically, the first 13 episodes are focusing on the romance and comedy, while they give you hints of the backstory to raise the suspense. Around episode 10-11-12 i was like, 'yeah ok, this is cute, but lets move on to the serious part'. I was afraid the show won't get serious, but in episode 14 it does, and when it decides to go all in, IT FREAKING GOES ALL IN, and it shocks you! I know i was having goosebumbs at what was happening, and most importantly in the WAY it was explained. What happens in KMHM is wonderful and flawless, but the develop of the story, the way the story is told, is what makes this show a masterpiece. As far as the 'boring rom-com' thing i said goes, to be honest, don't pay attention to me, this is me being a needy bitch, lol!
Another thing i loved was how everything is connected. Even the small seemingly unimportant romantic stuff that happen in the beginning aren't in vain, just for the 'awwws' and cute romantic moments. Everything is important. I appreciated that, very nice writting again from the production team! Also, i feel the need to say how amazing the love story was. Apart from the usual aw and cute parts of the romance, i loved how the writers didn't make up silly problems just to keep the couple apart and torment the viewers. The main couple wanted to be together, had serious problems for not being together, and instead of crying around they tried their best to work them through in order to be happy. Happiness is the goal here. I loved that!
I can't understand how anyone can't like this. I also can't understand how this didn't get super high ratings in Korea. I am seriously judging Koreans for letting this gem go semi-unnoticed! *side eyeing koreans* :P
ACTING
The acting was great, almost perfect, but for some reason i can't give it a 10, it doesn't feel right.
Ji Sung. New favourite actor to be honest, he really pulled off playing 7 different personalities/characters almost flawlessly. He was badass, he was sweet, he was cute, he was extremely funny, he was emotional, he was handsome, he was everything, i fell for him lol. The only minor complain i had were the moments when he was changing personalities. All his groaning and falling down, i mean,it felt kind of fake or/and overacted. However, i am not familiar with this syndrome, maybe this is the way it actually happens. Nonetheless his acting was brilliant, bravo! I am definately following his other dramas now.
Hwang Jung Eum. Firstly i need to praise the actress on her comedy skills. The woman knows what she is doing. She was extremely funny and cute, but sometimes it did feel a bit over the top. Her reactions, in order to seem funny and cute ended up feeling a bit forced sometimes. The overall feel i got from her acting is certainly positive, and she nailed her dramatic scenes as well, but there were some moments, mostly during the early episodes, her acting felt a bit forced.
Park Seo Joon. He was alright, i kind of disliked his character, he was too pushy for me to handle, but he had some nice, touching scenes with HJE. He was also tough when needed, emotional, and also funny and cute for most of the time. I fell in love with Ji Sung so i seriously have nothing more to say lol.
Outside of the main cast, i need to applaud the kid actors, the kids seemed very young but they did a wonderful job getting their feeling across, especially in such a young age. Furthermore, all the supporting cast was great!
MUSIC
BEST.OST.EVER! No literally, i generally don't pay attention to OSTs. I have like 3 kdrama soundtracks downloaded from the dramas i've watched. But omg, the ost here is flawless, emotional, i liked it from the first moment it played in the 1st episode, it didn't grow on me because of the show. FLAWLESS SONG, FLAWLESS! It won best soundtrack of the year i think, well deserved! It brings tears to my eyes from the beginning to the end, the lyrics are basically a very well-thought summary of the show itself. A dramatic, emotional, yet powerful and angry song.
RECOMMEND/REWATCH
This is a must watch, the 2nd best kdrama i have ever watched. This can be watched by everyone. You like comedy? watch this. You like romance? watch this. You like melodrama? WATCH THIS!! You like great backstories? EFFING WATCH THIS! You like complicated situations? W-A-T-C-H T-H-I-S!!! Did i make myself clear?
The rewatch value is seriously high, the early episodes are huge on comedy and the later huge on drama. People, don't think about it anymore, this show is worth the 20 hours of your life!
STRAIGHT INTO MY FAVES LIST!!
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There is two sides to the story. There is your typical chaebol family with their problems and struggle to inherit the company, then there is also the side of the character dealing with a multiple personality disorder meeting a cheerful normal girl, who belongs to a cheerful normal family. The way that lovely family is so perfectly portrayed, and how fun it was to have them on screen, makes me wonder why koreans are so obsessed with chaebol stories. In any case when I look at it in that sense, the story isn't original at all, and I find the disorder was used as a trope rather than being the central key to the story. The reason is, we don't see any real treatment to it, though we do deal with the past, but realism wasn't what the drama was going for. That did not bother me because it made the characters of this drama original, changing the dynamic this drama would've taken otherwise.
The acting is what elevated this drama, made it not only watchable, but one of the most anticipated dramas for me this season. I am ashamed to admit it is my first time watching a Ji Sung drama, and oh boy, saying I'm impressed is an understatement. His distinct portrayal of each personality striking. He had full control of the look in his eyes, his voice, and every nerve forming his facial expression. Then there is Park Seo Joon who is also my first time seeing. He is one of the best his generation, and I'm pretty sure his future is already set. As a loser son, as an amazing brother, as a mysterious writer, and a haunted individual with a bit of darkness, he depicted so many sides of his character you'd this he's the one with the disorder lol. Hwang Jung Eum might've understandably annoyed many viewers but she didn't bother me. I think it's because her character is so frank that I can forgive anything. I liked her in the serious scenes more though. The actors playing Ri Jin and Ri On's parents were also fun, and very natural in their role. Specially the mom always expressing her love, fear, expectations and pride through her facial expression. Choi Won Young as secretary Ahn was also fun. his role was straightforward that I don't think he was required anything more, but he did manage his comedic moments throughout and that I appreciate. Last but not least, the children were also really good in their role. As for the rest of the cast, they might've been good but I didn't notice, because I didn't care and mostly was skipping their scenes. Thankfully the actors/characters mentioned above were onscreen mostly.
I really appreciate the direction here, many things were handle impressively, but some things started annoying me later on in the series. I like the effects used, when blurring the line between reality and illusion. I also really love the effective use to light here. I think it helped Ji Sung in portraying his characters. Basically each of the personalities had a specific light and colours used, emphasizing on their character but sublte enough to not disturb the whole scene. The choice of music was also great and effective, especially that theme song ?? (Auditory Hallucination). I do have a complaint though with this department. The amount of flashbacks used in the last 6 episodes could fill two complete episodes. The same goes with the dragged out scene of a brooding character for the sake of finishing the song. It felt really inefficient and draggy. I am happy that they used this way to drag out the episodes instead of using writing unnecessary events to drag out the story. Still I would prefer that a drama cuts out everything that makes it boring and draggy.
As for the ending, it's hard for me to say if I was overall satisfied or not. The part that I fully enjoyed in the story had a well written and extremely satisfying ending, the side that I didn't enjoy had an even worse ending.
I put a high rewatch value only because I think it'll be fun to go back and watch the personalities of Ji Sung and watch Ri On and Ro Jin bicker, although I wouldn't attempt the whole drama a second time.
To summarize my thoughts, the story itself is actually is actually generic, while the themes and tropes used are original. The main characters are different, written with depth and insight and the acting was through the roof. It was highly entertaining and did not let the melo side drag it down.
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It's also too long, 16 episodes would have been enough. The last 4 episodes stretch the story way too thin.
Luckily the actors are good and make up for other areas where the drama lacks. I thought Ji Sung was especially good. Although both leads are too old for the parts they are playing, it doesn't detract from the story as their age isn't important to the plot. It just bugged me a little. Sure Ji Sung looks good for his age but I can't pass for 27...
I liked the comedy parts the best, and I think that Ji Sung really shined in these parts.
It's worth watching if you like melodramas.
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Ji Sung's mission impossible: accomplished!!
When a psychiatrist Oh Rijin meet a man with dissociative identity disorder, Cha Do Hyeon, she gets fully occupied with each of his seven identities from a man-child troublemaker, an eccentric old man, to an obsessive fangirl. Before she realizes it, she falls in love with one of his egos.This is a great mix of melodrama and romcom. It’s my go-to show whenever I need a good laugh. The story makes me sympathize with the characters without using cheap tricks. The three leads have the best chemistry! Above all, I'm blown away with not one, but seven characters of our male lead. Casting Ji Sung turned out to be a bullseye! His Baeksang is well deserved! It’s my intro to Ji Sung and I'm happy to be alive. His unpredictability draw me in more than the story does. Shin Se Gi, despite his toxic masculinity spreading, I always anticipate his next moves. And of course, when Yo Na strikes, I was losing myself laughing too much! I also love the OST, Auditory Hallucination.
Kill Me, Heal Me wasn’t without its flaws: the CGI looks messy and chaotic. I also don’t think they need to emphasize the make up and tattoos when he changes personality. I can recognize him changing without all those touch-ups, even from only his gaze. Another con is the repetitive flashbacks and how Ri Jin was bullied by her family. She has the heart of a saint and stubbornness to stick by him even when he was literally changing in front of her eyes, she deserves better! Overall… Fun, heartbreaking, and unpredictable! It's the best guilty pleasure ∋━o(｀∀´oメ）
-Sept 2023, Yovita
Find me on Instagram: @kdramajudge
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I did not like one thing about Shin Se Gi - while he is one of my favorites the tattoo is too much. Ahn Yo Na is my favorite personality of all. Hwang Jung Eum(Oh Ri Jin) is the lead female and I was not so impressed with her or her character or her acting. That is all I can say about her really.
The acting of Ji Sung to pull off each of these characters is very impressive. For some of the personalities you can tell he has changed just by watching him. Ji Sung was the key to this drama getting as good of a rating as it did. He was spectacular.
The story over all was good, but once again they tried to wrap it up all too quick. One key problem I had was the appearance of a new personalty at the end, and I wanted more of a back story on a few of the personalities mostly the twin's (I don't feel they were explained as much).
The OST "Auditory Hallucinations" is one of my favorites right now and fits the drama perfectly.
Overall if the drama had been a little more clean at the end I would have rated it higher.
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You know those dramas you anticipate but are afraid to watch because you're not sure it would live up to it's hype? KMHM lives up to the hype and surpasses it.
The story was phenomenal. Ji Sung is a very versatile actor and deserves all the awards he got for his work. He's excellent. Aside from him, all of the cast did excellent jobs. You forgot you were watching acting, because it didn't seem like acting. It seemed like true heartbreaking emotions. I sometimes wondered if the actors themselves haven't developed split personalities, they were that good.
Some people complained about the flashback scenes being too much, too repetitive and making parts of the drama boring. I disagree. The flashbacks were numerous, yes, but each was tastefully done and told a different story every time it was shown.
This drama was worth watching. I think I wanted it to be longer, to go into the origins etc of all the different personalities. I felt sorry in a different way for each of them, and it was hilarious how one of them was jealous of the other. Imagine being in a love triangle with you, yourself, and a woman. Seeing the story, developed by the excellent, flawless acting, makes you understand that each and everyone goes through difficult times and not to judge or treat people harshly. It really appeals to your empathy.
The music deserves Best OST. Jang Jae In is my new favourite.
Writer of the script gets 100/10. It was that good.
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This drama was something I had never watched before because of its portray of the DID sickness which was both brilliantly and creatively done. Yes, the family drama and the traumatic childhood was not so different from other korean plots, but the way everything connected to explain the powerful love the main leads naturally played out was amazing!
I had so much fun watching this drama because of the different personalities and the crazy bipolar main actress. Yes, her screams and crying were annoying, and especially her yelling mad me want to slap her. However, it was understandable and you eventually get used to it because it was obviously meant so her character could play the moody bipolar character she was meant to be. I loved her so much, because within all her flaws, she makes you love her, as much as you love the main lead whom you are predestined to fall in love with. The other characters were also amazing because they played their roles so well. My favorite were Oh Rin on and the secretary. The only flaw this drama had were the damn flashback which was of course essential to the show, but I swear there was two or more that were repeated so much that the audience had seen it like a hundred times.
Last, but not least the soundtrack was perfect. There was one which was often repeated that made want to cry. I wish I knew its name. Drama was definitely a 10 for me and I definitely recommend it.
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1) It may sound absurd, but for my taste I love when there is one or more evil characters on a drama - they make things more fun and the main leads' reunion at the end more earned. This didn't happen over here. We had great material: the cold halmeoni, the calculating uncle and Do Hyun's mom... not to mention Cha Ki Joon (the cousin) or Chae Yeon. Every time one of them appeared on screen, I expected them to make a smart move and surprise me, but all they did was utter the wrong words. Seriously, I REALLY expected some serious threats to make the whole situation more anxious and interesting! This was a big let down. Maybe as a melo and makjang fan who has probably seen a lot of things whil pure evil enemies, was waiting for something more. Ok, but this can be forgiven because what is important here, is the DID and the road to recovery. Let's say the seemigly "bad people" including Do Hyun's father were only a backstory to that.
2) There were too many flashbacks and at some point it was confusing. Ok that they could help us viewers understand the backstory more, but do not let the footage be longer than 5 minutes! On the last episodes it was really TOO long, and could have been told through another telling method. In my opinion, a shorter FB gives a mysterious tone to the narration and makes the audience would want to look out for more. The FB's almost told everything we still needed to know, dragging the whole thing.
3) And this brings me to point 3. I honestly felt that up from episode 15 to 20, the writer just wrote stuff to "fill" the episodes, since they had them. I felt like 16 episodes would have sufficed. This is why the long flashbacks and long scenes with the main leads with basically 5 minutes or less of screentime for the secondary characters that as I wrote above, could have been given more 'evil' things to plot, instead of just walking away emotionless as they did. I don't like stories that drag out too much.
4) This may sound silly, but I was REALLY disappointed by the romantic part. I had watched Ji Sung and HJE in "Secret Love" and loved them because they portrayed a sweet yet bitter kind of romance. Here the romance was also messed up because of the personalities and the "triangle" between Do Hyun, Se Gi, and Ri Jin (quadrangle if we also add Ri On or pentagon with Chae Yeon). Don't get me wrong, I think they had the chemistry but somehow, when they kissed they seemed uncomfortable. Their kisses were just too simple and lasted FOOOOOREVER, I felt like sighing everytime. Bear with me, but if they are potraying something that has romance in it, to make me feel the whole thing, the romantic part has to be done in a way that I could enjoy, and here it was partially done so I feel a bit let down.
5) And maybe last point. I think the writer focused too much on the psychological part and the overcoming of the past. Like I said above, the romance is important when I watch something. If the ulterior plot besides the romance is not played in a way where it compensates for the lack of it, then even if it's well written like in this case, it leaves me with nothing much but a story about things I have studied in school (yeah, I was a psychology student). Had it been more evil touches and conspiration, I would have been more forgiving on this part. But since it didn't happen, I can just say I really appreciate how the writer explained this disorder and was creative about the personalities and what happens to people who suffer of DID, I can just compliment him/her on this aspect.
Finally let's talk about the cast and acting. I have already mentioned that I first saw Ji Sung and Hwang Jung Eum on "Secret" two years ago. They did not disappoint me. I find both of them good actors, JS was really good at playing seven different personalities - it really felt he was a different person each time. HJE was also good but when she shouted I didn't like it. They were good together, you could tell there was already a friendship between them, but I felt that one of them (maybe JS) was restraining themselves while acting. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's how I perceived it. Nothing to say to the other actors, they were ok and no one stood out more for me to comment about them.
Musically speaking, the only song that remained in my head is the main one with the rapper and the female voice. It is a good song with nice lyrics about the drama, and I'm surely not going to forget it soon. The other songs were ok.
This being said, I will give the whole drama a 7.5/8. Even if I complained, didn't mean I haven't enjoyed the whole thing... ;) I think it is worth the watch.
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Doesn't work on so many different levels
This is my first review on here, but I just had to write one after seeing all the positive reviews and the rating for this show. They are not just positive, they are extremely positive with messages like "best drama ever", "masterpiece" and so on. I don't get that at all. Well, most of them are from 2015 and I watched it in 2022, so maybe this show just aged really badly. But I don't think so. And here's why:Story: The overall idea of the many alternative personalities of the main lead is quite nice, I have to say! With this number of alternative personalities, so much would have been possible. But it was wasted, not explored at all. Instead, the drama was packed will all kinds of other things. It felt to me as if they wanted to make it a comedy, a love story, a mystery thriller and a story about a big corporation. And a doctor/patient story that educates the audience on psychiatric ilnesses. That's a lot. Probably not impossible but the writing here is just too bad and in the end, nothing makes sense. An example of a show, also including multiple personalities, where it made sense in the end and were the depth of the mind of the "patient" came to life is "Bad and Crazy" (2021). Also the other big aspect of the story, where they have a build-up of 18 episodes to make it appear as if there is a big dark mystery behind everything is weak, as they - spoiler alert - just don't deliver in the end. The biggest mystery to me was how I managed to watch this till the very end (self-torture, I guess ...).
Acting: the male lead is a phenomenal actor, but that doesn't help much if the writers and directors don't use his full potential. The female lead is horrible: overacting, screaming, crying like a baby, being happy like a kid - the child actor in the flashbacks was more serious than her! I have not seen her in other stuff, so I don't know if it is her inability or the director's choice! The writing for this character is definitely not suitable for a grown-up doctor and lover. Her character didn't bring anything to the story. The side actors are okay, no complaints here. I noticed the main female's dad and the psychiatrist professor as positive. However, the writing for most of the side caracters is, again, bad: the main female's brother really behaves like an a**hole the whole time (there is a 3-minute explanation somewhere in the end, that makes totally no sense), the male lead's mother, father and grandmother all are horrible people and there is little to no explanation on their behaviour in the end, the secretary is just like a dog that comes when called but is irrelevant to the story, same goes for the second love interest, and so on.
Editing: I noticed several times that the story jumps around quite a lot between places: one second they are all in his house, then her house then the company headquarter without a good reason and often without a proper segue/transition. And, but that's a K-Drama staple, overuse of flashbacks.
So, overall, I think there was so much potential, but it was executed so poorly. Definitley not worth 20 hours of your life!
Most memorable bits: Shin Se Gi's cheesy lines, Yo-na chasing after the idol and the brother (funny, but a bit homophobic) and the doctor ignoring al privacy standards without even blinking.
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Everyone's said it, but Ji Sung is a serious pro. He didn't just explore his main character... he got into all seven of them (even the short-lived Mr. X). I bust out into involuntary laughter whenever Yo Na appears, get misty-eyed at Yo Sub, connect with Se Gi, giggle at Perry Park, and it just amazes me that you can SEE the difference in Ji Sung's face and body language with each personality. I'll say it again: PRO.
This is the second time I believe he and Hwang Jang Eum have paired up together. I'll admit I haven't seen their first drama together, but bet your bottom dollar it's next on my To Watch list. Ri Jin was fun, spunky, sassy, dramatic, and serious in just the right amounts that flowed with the story and how she interacted with the personalities. The chemistry between Ri Jin and Do Hyun was on fire, and I totally love that he was the one who fell first.
Although Ki Joon and Chae Yeon's stories were not the main point of the show, I'm kind of glad the first love/competing-for-CEO drama tropes weren't as prevalent over the half-way point. Those stories can drag a drama down.
The story was fun, energetic, dark, romantic, hilarious, and just had an all around engaging plot that left me on the edge of my seat wishing I could time travel to the next week for the following episode. I went back and rewatched those beautiful kiss scenes (though the last one in Episode 20 could have been lit a lot better). I want Behind the Scenes clips ASAP.
I definitely recommend this drama to someone who is ready to face some darker themes, company secrets, doctors for the most part obeying patient confidentiality, and anyone who wants to witness some STELLAR acting.
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This Drama will give you goosebumps in every episode !!
A very Unique story line and there is no space of boredom !
you can never get tired of watching this ..
it contains everything .. romance,action,sad and thriller!!
This Drama have the best OST ..!!
i wish i can watch such drama more !!
one more time i would like to repeat .. THIS IS THE BEST KOREAN DRAMA EVER!!
Don't Miss It!!
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