Personal Taste (2010)

This is the first korean drama I've watched and I've got to say that I love it so much! This drama led me to my obsession with korean dramas, korean music and Korea itself!

The storyline was really great and the main characters have a great chemistry as well! The music fitted with the drama so well and it is absolutely hilarious! Some parts got a bit boring as you just want to really see scenes that have Lee Min Ho and Song Ye Jin in, but overall this is definitely a must see!

After watching Personal Taste I went and got the OST because the music is so amazing! I hope you all give Personal Taste a go because it will make you laugh so much!

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I started this expecting an amusing light entertainment. There was one funny moment in episode 1 and a few in episode 2, otherwise slow and/or a bit depressing. After watching 4 episodes I had great difficulty seeing where this is going. First it's a comedy of errors, then it changes into something else. It is episode 10, why am I still watching this? Maybe it's the fashion (not on the lead actors) and sets [I like the Kandinsky in the Dam Art Gallery]. The gay "joke" seems to have disappeared or become a downer (not that it's original or funny to start with). LMH seems uncomfortable playing a part with a gay theme, if so why do it? He is not at his most attractive or convincing and Son Ye Jin's character I find positively irritating [not to mention the permanent bad hair day]. Plus if there was little comedy (at least for me) in the first three episodes, there was nearly none ever since, except for the slip up scenes half way through). LMH looks like he has swallowed a lemon. I agree with others after around episode 10 it goes downhill into boring, predictable romance. When I start looking to see how long there is left in the episode it's not a good sign. The drama element livened up around episode 14 but they really draw out the agony in these Korean dramas before reaching the expected end. The theme music was good. Being generous a 7/10 for a neat package interesting at the start but falling off woefully after that. Also, maybe it is a Korean expression but I do not like the comments "I see you as a man" meaning you are not a man if you are gay. LMH was asked why he decided to take this part. I am wondering that too.

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The Good: Lee Min Ho in the peak of his looks( I am very shallow). Also, the acting in general, but Son Ye Jin in particular. Her character could have been so annoying if played by someone else, but she served just the right amounts of vulnerability and sincerity to make me like her. Oh, and when this show wants to be funny, it's really funny.

The Meh: The plot after the 12th episode or so. Once the big reveal is out, show looses its steam and starts going downhill. It never really went that bad for me, but it could have been so much better.

The bad: That two ending episodes involving one of the most unexplicable uses of noble idiocy in Kdrama ever. Tainted my image of LMH's Jin Ho character that I had liked so much before and made me angry, especially upon rewatch.

It's my first Kdrama ever though, so I can't really deny my fondness for this one either.

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I think for always in my top 10

This Kdrama is the reason why I am hooked up with Kdrama and even after having rewatched it several times, it remains one of my favorites. I cannot help it. I like the acting, the actors (main and supporting) and the overall story.
I love the sweet clumsiness of the female lead, the way the love and caring develops during the story, the special friendships between the several characters and not to be forgotten the great house.
It is a good drama to get into the Korean world and culture. I had to get used to the endings of Kdramas though...

Before having registered at MDL, I had my own grading system. These are the grades which I applied and which have contributed to the overall score I gave to this drama.
acting M: 10
acting F: 10
couple match: 10
romance: 9
emotions: 9.5
story line: 9
supporting cast: +
humor: +
watch back: ++

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Updated Review 2022:

Wow. What a difference time (and age (I’m getting old, folks)) makes. I don't remember when I first watched this drama (pretty sure the date for my original review is wrong), but my thoughts today are so vastly different from what they were then, that all I can say is.... I was wrong. Very wrong. Like cringing with embarrassment as I read my old review through my fingers, wrong. (You can also cringe-read that review below this updated one, as I've left it up for posterity's sake.)

Sometimes you have an inaccurate understanding of a stories characters, their motivations, their life experiences, what the writer is trying to convey/portray with their actions, and I would say that was definitely the case for me with this drama. I didn’t connect with any of the characters, including the leads. I found the romance unbelievable (I couldn’t see him falling in love with her, even when I held up a microscope). I wanted to throw the secondary leads into a fire (I mean, what’s new with these old-school dramas, lol). Basically, I DETESTED this drama.

But I was also in my rom-com’s only, don’t really care about what’s happening outside of the romance, only secondary characters who are happy and fun please, phase. There's nothing ultimately wrong with this, in my opinion, and I still very much have that side of me at times, but I’ve definitely changed as a drama-watcher since first watching Personal Taste. I’ve expanded my list of genre’s I’m willing to sit down in front of my computer for, I’ve found I actually enjoy stories that aren’t solely about romance or maybe don’t have romance at all, I’m genuinely interested in all of the side characters and watching their story arc progression, and I’ve even become more open to understanding the ‘evil’ secondary leads and seeing them as 3-dimensional characters rather than simply ‘the bad guy(s) out to stop my OTP.’

I was unsure going into Personal Taste a second time if it was really worth it to give the drama another chance, but I was also very curious to see if my perspective had changed. And I'm here to say that I was pleasantly surprised to find myself enjoying this drama. Not only did I not need a microscope to see the romance, I Liked the main couple. A Lot. All of the stuff with the house and the competition and trying to figure out the perfect design bored me before, but I was firmly invested this time. The heartbreaking circumstances of the death of the female lead’s mother and her subsequent feelings of guilt and self-loathing and worthlessness struck a real chord with me. And believe it or not, I found myself feeling sympathetic for both secondary participants in the drama’s love octopus. The second male lead has a fantastic period of growth in the story where he becomes just plain likable. They kind of ruin it for a bit towards the end, but they do ultimately choose to leave him a redeemed man, which I’m happy with. My sympathy waned over time for the second female lead as the writers don’t do a lot to make her particularly sympathetic, but her motivations made sense to me, and I pitied her to a certain degree.

Overall, this is just a much better drama then I gave it credit for before, and I’m glad I re-watched it, because now I can set the record straight on how I feel about it. I think it’s pretty dang great, and I recommend it.

Original Review:
I don't remember most of what happened in this drama as I found the whole thing completely uninteresting.

The leads had Zero chemistry. Like, none. They put in an admirable effort, but it was just not there. Which is disappointing, because more chemistry between them might have made this a better drama for me. (Being able to believe in a romance is key.) But I couldn’t believe in them as a couple, and watching them be romantic with each other quickly went from cute to awkward, and then from awkward to uncomfortable. The final scene…made me want to close my eyes and pretend it wasn’t happening.

I have No idea why this Love Octopus (love triangle) existed. Park Kae In being hung up on him, sure. I can understand that. But why was he so determined to get her back???

HE DIDN'T LIKE HER, FAM.

He should have been tossed in a fire and never seen from again.

The second female lead? I’m honestly not even sure why she dumped the second male lead to begin with since she knew the whole time she was dating him that he was seeing her ‘best friend’ too and didn't seem all that upset about it. Just marry the dude and get it over with. The two of you clearly deserve each other. (Hate is Not a strong enough word to describe how I feel about the secondary leads.)

And does it not seem a little unrealistic that after all those years of living in that house that she would have never moved the pallet out of the middle of her living/dining room and seen that there was a glass floor underneath? Did she never spill her food and have to clean it up? Like ever?

Honestly, the farther away from this drama I get…the more I hate it. Very little chemistry between the leads. The secondary leads were awful. The Love Octopus should not exist. The overarching storyline was uninteresting. The ending was completely awkward and lackluster. And you would think with those two living in close quarters like that, we would get more awkward, romantic, run-ins. But no, the drama denied me that.

This is not worth the watch, in my opinion.

At least her house was pretty though?

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First of all this drama titled personal taste is so amusing to watch because it is funny, romantic/drama and is recommended for all ages looking for a drama that is interesting to watch :)... The only reason wny i started watching this drama is because the starring role is played by LEE MIN HO which is my favourite korean actor so far... After watching a few episodes i fell inlove with the story... It is ashamed that it has only 16 episode and i'm hoping for a part 2 but overall this drama is top-notch for me! And to whoever out there that is thinking of watching this, just go for IT! You won't be disappointed I PROMISE! :)

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The pace of this drama is a little slow at times, but don't give up on it! The ending is perfect and so rewarding! The cast was great, the acting was good, the characters were very real and heartfelt, and the chemistry wasn't bad. The premise was what initially attracted me, but the plot was also good. Less cliche and melodramatic than I was expecting, and then there was the whole mystery of Sanggojae to keep me watching!

The soundtrack was a mix of a couple of K-pop songs, some piano pieces, and also famous classical music pieces most often used to comic effect. I really enjoyed that aspect, it really enhanced some of the funny scenes.

I would rewatch this. Even if the pace is a little slow, it is slow in the sense that the script writers took their time to develop the characters through dialogue and situation. I enjoyed all the heart-to-hearts the different characters had with one another. Try this drama if you want a nice blend of funny, serious, and romantic. It definitely gave me a warm and cozy feeling overall.

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