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Not a fan of the theme music - too disruptive
7.5 out of 10 is my rating. This is a 2015/2016 South Korean/Chinese romantic comedy drama with 20, 15 minute episodes.Choi Se-hoon (Jung II-woo); is CEO of a company that recruits and develops new talent. He is known as having somewhat of a Midas touch as those he selects go on to have lucrative careers. Hopeful stars in the making line up wishing nothing more than to be the next one chosen by Se-hoon which is a guaranteed path to their dreams of stardom. Se-hoon is arrogant, rude and very full of himself and no is not a word he is accustomed to others directing at him. His much abused staff put up with their difficult to deal with boss as a ride on his coattails is career success. Leaving his staff in charge while attending to other business results in a top female star escaping from a photo shoot in favor of a wild day of fun. Since it is just a concept shoot, Se-hoon‘s staff has a beautiful stranger, who inadvertently helped the female star escape, stand in for the shoot. Se-hoon returns mid-shoot and sees stars as he watches natural beauty, YooYi-rung (Jin Se-yeon) transform into a pro before the camera.
He decides on the spot to make this nobody an offer she surely can’t refuse - to sign a contract for him to “raise her” to be a star of his own making. To his ultimate surprise, Yi-rung takes an instant dislike to Se-hoon and flat refuses his offer. She heads back to her home deep in the forested hills. Not one to be easily dissuaded, Se-hoon soon follows his reluctant Star to be. He is not one for “roughing it” and she lives her life “off the grid”. He soon finds himself doing many things he has never done in an effort to persuade her. Hilarity ensues as the two very determined people face off. Who will win this battle of wills? Has Se-hoon met his match?
Spoilers** This was a light and fluffy romance. Very predictable but not in a bad way. I would have liked it a lot more but the music that was chosen for this television drama was horrible it reminded me of circus music and really broke the 4th wall. I like Jun II Woo as a male lead - I think he is a really good actor and have enjoyed him in every role I have seen him in (Cinderella and the Four Knights; Flower Boy Next Door for example) and I also liked him in this. Monsta X is the k-pop band that plays one of the clients the male lead manages - that right there is almost enough to carry this for me. The story itself is good and the chemistry is believable. Each episode was short and I tend to like longer episodes as it allows for more plot development. Good, for what it is and worth the watch. Just be prepared for really disruptive music.
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Exaggerated and comedic
It matched the genre at the time, but it hasn't held up particularly well over time. Fully knowing this will be ridiculous, it's still enjoyable to watch! Since this plot and romance would not be watchable if it took itself too seriously, it was refreshing that it was so dramatized (to me personally haha)It's short and sweet in the sense that the episodes pass quickly, and I was laughing a lot. The ending song was very catchy, but I don't think it's worth seeing again. I didn't anticipate seeing Bora either!
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It isn't mindblowing but it also isn't something to dismiss. I would recommend watching this when you're not ready to commit or haven't found the next drama you want to watch.
The music wasn't bad as it often helped lighten the mood to keep the drama happy-going and cute. However, there were a few scenes they could have chosen a better song.
I didn't understand the random dancing clown. I let it go because of Monsta X.
Sayings contribute as a defining feature to the drama since the characters often quote them (especially the FM main lead). Personally, I enjoy them. (FYI: I did like watching "Como Dice el Dicho" which also had sayings as a prominent feature)
The things I didn't like were evened out by the cuteness especially from Jung Il Woo (male lead).
I also gotta give a shout out to Lee Si Eon (Section Chief), his character made things significantly better.
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Cute and Fun Watch
High End Crust is a quick cute and fun watch. I really like the short episodes for binging. The characters were fun, and it had more comedy than other romantic comedies. I particularly enjoyed that there was not any meddling parents, and it just focused on the main characters trying to understand their feelings (in funny ways). The main characters were entertaining, particularly the male lead. The relationship between the CEO and his section chief was cute as well. Would recommend if you are looking for something light and fun that moves quickly.Was this review helpful to you?
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Short kdrama for that kdrama slump
I'll start off by saying, that if you're looking for a great epic love story with complicated plot, this isn't it. Even though the whole drama is about 5 hours long, I didn't think they used the time wisely.If you're looking for a drama where you can turn off your brain and not think about the plot too much, this is the kdrama for you.
The negatives:
The ML has serious issues with communication with other people and is the stereotypical kdrama lead, and, even though I thought that his issues would be resolved, in the 17th episode I lost all my liking of him, when he said, that he would like the FL to cry. I know it was meant to be petty, but it ruined all the work he had done with his personality.
The dragging of the plot. Even though the drama itself was short, I felt as the romance was dragged out way too much, like, they started dating in the last episode, like, what's up with that?
What was up with that clown?! I was hoping that they would explain it, but nothing...
The positives:
I liked the supporting characters, especially the manager of the CEO, he was typical comedic relief, but I enjoyed them
The lack of a mean second female lead. When they introduced the FL to the company, I dreaded the possibility of the blond girl being the bitchy 2FL, I'm glad they exceed my expectations
The title song - at first I thought it was annoying, now I know it's annoying but it doesn't stop me from humming it from time to time
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Good way of spending time when nothing better is avaiable
The story is plain and simple.I am not interested in k-pop or the lives of the actors. I like k-dramas but that is it. Of course some male and female actors i prefer, but i am not interested in their lives...
So, for me, the backstage of professional singers, managers, etc it's interesting as a curiosity view of a major industry.
Choi Se Hoon is a sucessfull businessman that goes berserk when he falls in love without understanding those feelings. He take ages confessing to her...
Yoo Yi Ryeong is a girl that lived isolated from the world and enters in the k pop business as she lived there...
And that's it.
Nice ending, soft plot...
ACTING - didn't find awesome but it was ok.
MUSIC - i don't remember so, for me, not memorable.
PLOT - boring, simple, it is reduced to an egocentric and famous guy that falls in love for the first time.
REWATCH - well, i watch this last year and couldn't remember so i didi it again!
OVERALL - if you are a k-pop fan maybe it is good for you
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Campy & Comical! This mini romcom made me laugh!
Likes: Jung Il Woo, period! His flabbergasted expressions made me laugh, His acting and comic timing was excellent. Same goes for Lee Sieon who also made me laugh with his line deliveriesDislikes: the IDOL acting, esp Bora...Ooof, very green, very very green
This mini romcom was exactly what I was looking for to beat the mediocrity of dramas as of late. I just didn't feel like investing time into another long drama that would probably only have small pockets of scenes that I would like. This hit the sweet spot for me at this period in time. It's silly, short (15min eps), funny, and lighthearted!
It's campy sure, but it works. Jung Il Woo shines in this drama. His portrayal of the narcissistic loony CEO of an entertainment company made me laugh. It's a predictable role, but he was able to interject some unexpected gestures, expressions, and lines that made me crack up. It's a hard tone to balance, and he did it well which makes me think he's very talented or had a good director.
Another person who shined was Lee Sieon. We expect Sieon to be funny, but again he somehow surprised me with the direction with some of his lines. I loved the antagonistic bromance between the two.
As for the FL, she was the straight character and served her purpose fine. I wouldn't say there were loads of chemistry ,but it worked. The only drawback of this mini drama was the IDOL acting, especially Bora who was too green and lacked the skills to be convincing. Also, I found her voice very annoying, but all in all, a minor flaw in an otherwise delightful romcom.
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Terrible
I really enjoyed the fist hour of this show, yet since it is broken into 20 minute segments per episode, I finished it easily….and that is a good thing. If this had been 16+ hours my rating would -10. However, this is a very short drama that relies on the comedy from ML because the FL is a terrible actress. This is like the third drama I have watched with her as the FL, and I can confidently say she has only three expressions. The ONLY reason I am giving this 5.5 stars is the ML is great, and he tries his best, but even his phenomenal talent can’t work with a blank, expressionless stare. 😒Was this review helpful to you?
MALE LEAD : jung il wook omg his acting was flawless. usually in all the dramas, female lead gets all the cute facial expressions but its quite opposite in this drama. jung il gets the role to express all the emotions. i didnt know he could be so funny.
The only thing i felt awkward was how come they made him to wear shorts. i mean long coat, formal shirt, tie with that shorts😂😂 why i mean why??? not sure whthr its a fashion thing in korea!
FEMALE LEAD: she doesnt have much role to play. she just looked like a doll till the end since all the acting part was done by jung il wook.
BORE OR NOT : no, its not at all boring. its funny and cute but some people might not like this kind of comedy. Some might find it lame or boring. Personally, i enjoyed it.
SUBTITLES: yea it was messed up around epi18. its not completely disabled. only few sentences are not subbed for me but definitely we can figure out wats happening. its not that bad.
WORTH A TRY: yes yes yes. This is not something that u started off and felt bored and wanna drop it halfway. even if u feel bored, u can definitely watch till the end coz its really short. Technically, u are not really wasting much of ur time. u can complete it in a day or two.
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Nothing new but so much fun!
A classic tale of a cold rich man who falls for a sweet country girl. They clash. They kiss and live happily ever after. THE ENDWhen I discovered web dramas a few years ago (I am a fairly recent drama watcher!), this drama was practically on top of every list. So I started watching it and dropped it immediately after about 10min. >The overbearing CEO and the goody two shoes country bumpkin were too much to bear. I never planned to pick it up again until recently I read a review which changed my mind. Maybe at the time I was not ready to watch it due to the utter lack of familiarity with Korean entertainment. This time around, it is so different.
The overbearing cold man is hilarious. The country bumpkin is not as naive as she seems to be. Their push and pull, the bickering with side characters, the idols in training, the rival producer: everything was perfectly synchronized. The CEO & his secretary have an amazing relationship (the bromance is top notch!) and their comic timing is just perfect. I usually do not like comedy dramas from Korea: not my kind of humour with too much slapstick (which I find totally cringy!) but here it was just rather universal, smart with a minimum of body humour and mostly chatter!
The cast of secondary characters was outstanding: from the psychiatrist to the company staff to the idols and even the rivals, they were all fully fleshed out and not superficially just introduced. They were there to help move the story forward but not only: they also changed in contact with the FL.
I loved the FL saying ancient proverbs to encourage herself and the others.
This is a very positive drama, not a single toxic or evil character (the rival producer was just ...funny!), no love triangle, some misunderstandings but solved rather quickly. The story is pretty much straightforward full of usual clichés but dut to its format (15min episodes) no time was wasted on useless plot devices. And even though it did take them 20 episodes to finally get together, it flowed naturally, it was not annoying or boring.
High End Crush is a comedy and should be viewed as such: do not look for a deeper meaning or a criticism of korean idol industry (all idols in training here are kind and sweet and friends with each other!). The music is setting the tone for a comedy.
It was a nice quick watch. If you ever need a palate cleanser after a heavy drama, this one should do the trick!
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