Best Chicken (2019)

Homemade crunchy fried chicken.

Story: "Best Chicken" sets out to enchant its viewers with constant images of deliciously fried chicken, mugs full of beer, and two young adults trying their best to figure out what they want to do when they "grow up". It is a candid, homely portrayal of what it's like to jump into something new without any experience, and the aftermath of having your dreams destroyed by someone with ulterior interests. Above all, the main plot follows Seo Bo Ah and Park Choi Go's journey as they assist each other directly and indirectly, engage in mischievous sabotage (that sometimes goes too far), and find new lives and dreams through a fried chicken restaurant. As expected this is not a groundbreaking drama but its simple story is consistent from start to finish, and there are many goofy moments that will either make you smile, look away, or just raise your spirits. Just like deep frying chicken at home: it probably won't look as pretty as buying it elsewhere, but you know it tastes good.

Acting/Cast: The cast as a whole is a quirky collection of k-drama tropes between Seo Bo Ah's close friends & partners in crime, Park Choi Go's helicopter mother, and the neighbourhood's grumpy elders. All actors match the roles that were assigned to them. When it comes to the acting, there is a rift between the effort put by the female actresses and the male actors. While Kim So Hye - someone who is fairly recent to k-drama acting - performs well and her efforts are noticeable throughout each episode, the same cannot be said of Park Sun Ho's stiffness and blank eyed stares that persist from episode 1 to 12. But overall the acting quality is okay-ish.

Music: The soundtrack of "Best Chicken" features songs by SOHEE, J. Mee. Kim Eunbi (EB), and the drama's own Chick Choir that sings about... You guessed it: chicken. There is nothing particularly memorable about the music but it's easy on the ear, and upbeat.

Rewatch Value: For fans of Kim So Hye there is some re-watch value as watching her character develop and interacting with her friends is a fun experience by itself. This is also a fairly short drama, standing at twelve episodes of one hour each so it can be watched peacefully in a single day or two. As for the ending itself, it ends in a simple, kind manner: life goes on in the fried chicken world.

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A short drama that actually has a cute story. Overall, it was entertaining, I have to say. The story wasn't anything special, but it was light and sweet. The romance was cute as well. In addition, the performances were good from all the actors and actresses. Another plus was the eye candy actors, that were many in this one!! Also, there was no love triangle, but the bromance was nice and strong. However, I have to say that there were some annoying characters. The leading lady wasn't that likable at first, but she got better. But her friend was exremely annoying!! Eventually, she was the one who created the chaos and didn't even support her friend... Anyway, in the end, it was a nice drama with a simple feel good plot.

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Wow, I am quite surprised at how much I enjoyed it considering it is a simple plot and I even prioritized other dramas until I finally watched this one because I thought it would not be that good. It is very rare for me to enjoy dramas with such a simple plot focused on the lives of characters that could really be actual people. The drama was very realistic but very relaxing to watch at the same time. I watched it as if I had all the time in the world to watch it and never felt like skipping scenes (ok, that would be lying, maybe 1 or 2).

Last time I enjoyed such a "normal" drama was with Fight For My Way. I had the same feeling I had then: that I did not need any supernatural, time-travelling, plot-twists, mistery and intense things for me to be able to enjoy a drama so much. I smiled, got angry and even cried (yeah, I did, I am pretty sure I was not the only one).

Part of me wished this was longer since I was liking it so much. I would not mind seeing the business grow even more and their struggles to keep going, but then I guess it would turn into a daily drama. XD

The other part of me is glad that they kept it short with only 12 episodes instead of 16 or even 20. That way they were able to keep the story enjoyable and not draggy at all.

I understand some people might not think much of this drama since it is so "normal" and not amazing or over the top, but 7.2 (at the time I am writing this) is definitely not right. Some of the not so good kdramas that came out last year have better ratings than this one and they had so many negative comments.

Ok, the re-watch value might not be that high (I rarely re-watch dramas anyway) but for a first time watch when you want to take a break from intense dramas this is just what you need. I hope the rating goes up later since this is a pretty recent drama, and if it goes down or stays like this then I will definitely think it is one of those underrated dramas. (This is why I do not give much importance to ratings before I watch a drama and would rather read detailed comments and even spoilers and decide for myself if it is my kind of drama or not).

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I wanted to watch this drama because I love Sohye a lot so I wanted to give all of my support to her.
This story was so damn cute! I enjoyed it a lot! The acting was childish, but I love that type of acting so I'm fine with that.
The budget was very low, lol, but I can't blame them for that. The special effects were weird.. that living chicken scares the hell out of me. Also, shout out to whoever who decided to add an anime scene in the middle of an episode. Pretty nice. Music was very cute, the Chicken Song and Sweet Stranger are stuck in my head.
About the characters.. I just couldn't bear Choigo's mom. Damn. She's the pure stereotype of Asian parents.
Sodam's story was pretty unnecessary, it felt like she was just.. there.
I really enjoyed Boah's group of friends, even though they were wrong half of the show.
The main couple were cute as hell and they had such nice scenes <3. Overall, a not-so-deep but great show I would recommend.

Btw, support Park Sun Ho (male lead) on Produce X 101 :)

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I usually have pretty low expectations for a rom-com with a mostly unknown cast, so the bar was pretty low for this. It was better than expected, but even so I nearly dropped it at around ep. 8 - the only reason I finished it was that it would be over in 12 episodes. And, also, I was bored. :(
The biggest problem was pacing. There was far too much time spent on persecuting the chicken restaurant owner, a nice guy although really a bit simple and too trusting. The plot finally expanded far into it, but as interesting plot lines developed, it was over. As a result, the whole thing wrapped up in a big hurry in the 12th episode, although to do the sub-plots justice it needed several more episodes. A typically rushed K-drama ending. The character development was simplistic and shallow. The plot had promise but the whole show felt like a throwaway that everyone had lost interest in by the end.
The music was really annoying. A couple of songs have been lifted from Boys before Flowers, and it was jarring to have them inserted here - one minute I was in a chicken restaurant, and the next I was back in time with images on Kim Hyun Joong and the rest of the cast, going to a snobby private school. I should have just watched BBF again!
The acting wasn't terrible, given the material they had to work with.
Don't waste your time here unless you are in the middle of a K-drama drought.

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Below average show. The FL is one of the worse leads I have seen.

This drama should not be taken seriously at all. Otherwise, as everyone else is saying the FL will drive you crazy. She is really a brat and nearly no positive qualities. The ML does a lot for her even though he has no relation because he is simply a nice guy and she tries to sabotage him most of the show. Like the FL is mad that the ML is acting like a saint towards her. He protects her from her grandpa (who's mad at her for acting like a brat and yelling at him), He protects her from her ex-coworker who ruined her life, he buys her a tablet, and he genuinely appreciates everything she does for him (even though he pays her well). All this and she still tries to sabotage him and has the nerve to feel bad about it. How about you just stop? The FL does not have one ounce of decency and is a brat. Obviously when they start to like each other things change, but still. The ML is a great character though. Which is why it is annoying that the FL is trying to ruin him and his dream when all he does is care about her. And for what? because she wants her bath house back? Ruining the livelihood and dream of someone who only helps you is messed up. I think the ex that randomly broke up with the ML is nicer than the FL to be honest. She did not do anything terribly wrong to the ML; she did not cheat and broke up because she thought she did not feel the same way anymore which is natural. Of course this hurt the ML, but it is something that happens. What the FL doing most of the show is just wrong on so many levels. Her entire personality is partly because someone else ruined her dream and stole her work and here she is doing the same thing to someone so nice. When she gets caught there is no redemption and the ML simply forgives her because he likes her. All that build up for such a terrible response.

This is meant to be a rom com, but more on the comedy side. The FL is supposed to be the way she is for the show to be what the show is. I enjoyed some moments of the show but the ending ruined it for me. Nothing made sense at the end. The show is a short drama and they tried to do too much at the end. I don't get why these dramas have these side characters that are interested in the leads the whole show and then right at the end they date another side character. In this case the ML's ex is the SFL and she randomly ends up with the ML's brother (like cmon). They were in a relationship for 3 years and she just gonna end up with the brother? Can characters just be single? why force things. They go on one date and are immediately in love and bring up marriage. The show actually ends with the ML not even knowing about their relationship.

The ending is actually worse than the beginning. I regret watching this show tbh. They tried to do way too much in 12 episodes. The FL goes back and forth between wanting to help the ML and ruin him which makes no sense. One second she is doing her best for the restaurant and the next second she is trying to ruin it by sabotaging it. How about you just not help or do a bad job? it makes no sense. They could use this to add a lot of comedy to the show but there is not 1 funny scene. Up to episode 9 the FL tries to ruin the ML's restaurant and dreams and once she is caught; nothing really happens because the ML likes her. All that build-up. The entire show was about that for nothing.

This is not a rom com because there are literally 0 comedic moments. It is just a romance/food show but the romance is actually terrible.

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Living the dream

This is a 2019 South Korean comedy drama with 12, 1 hour episodes.

Sri Bo-ah (Kim So-the) is a 25 year old owner of a bath house. She was a promising webtoon artist but after having her work stolen by a Sunbae who becomes famous from it, she becomes jaded and hides behind her failing business. When Park Choi-go (Park Sun-go) quits his promising job in the cubicle jungle to pursue his dream of owning a chicken restaurant, he finds the bathhouse a great location and arranges to lease it from Bo-ah’s grandfather, Seo Myung-dong (Myung Kye-nam), who owns the building. Myung-dong says he will discount the lease costs if Choi-go will hire Bo-ah. Myung-dong hopes that losing the bath house and gaining a job will be a recipe for renewed success for his granddaughter who has put her life on hold after her negative experience as a webtoon artist. But Bo-ah has other ideas and thinks Choi-go is just a bored rich guy playing business she vows to do all she can to drive Choi-go out of business so she can resume her “safe” life. Hilarity ensues when every plot she attempts to harm the business winds up helping. Things get complicated when the two start to develop feelings for each other and Bo-ah starts to regret her early transgressions. Some things have been set in place that are hard to stop. Choi-go is as nice and optimistic as Bi-ah is surly and pessimistic. Can these two opposites find love and realize their dreams?

Spoiler alert. This was unique in that the female lead was the one who was not very nice in the beginning. Usually it is the male lead in dramas that starts out mean to the girl and she slowly wins him over. It was opposite in this and it made it unique. The male lead was so nice to her from the start and through all the hardships the female lead created that I would find myself angry at the female lead on his behalf. It was one of the funniest dramas I have seen though. It was extremely amusing to see her plots backfire. I liked all of the plot twists and how the characters grew and developed. It made me very hungry for fried chicken. The romance was very cute. And it ended well with all but one minor plot point wrapped up.

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Heartwarming Tale of family, friendship and life

This may sound like a normal run-of-the-mill soap drama but I got hooked from epoisodes 2-5 progressively because it clearly wasn't. And I found myself sucked into the drama and binged watched over 3 days as I was enjoying it more and more. There are fair amount of plot twists which weaves into the gradual development between the ML and FL from opposing camp to friends(more from the FL's side). It was entertaining to see how the FL slowly shifts her loyalty to the restaurant whom she was supposed to bring down, with the support and instigation of her 3 childhood friends. Sadly, everyone puts in a decent effort in acting and grows, even the side characters (even Bo A's grandfather!) some of which I have to mention would be ML's ex gf, his mother, his brother,EXCEPT the ML who appears stone-faced throughout episodes 1 to 12 the finale. Maybe we can blame it on the script but I just want to call out the characters who grow the most, that is, Mi-Na, Bo A's best friend who turned from a cold, materialistic and callous realtor to a kind and sensitive soul when she pities Andrew Kang's and helped him renovate his place out of her free will. And even more noteworthy is trundere Michelin chef Andrew Kang who grew from a hot-tempered and cold disillusioned bum to a another sensitive and grateful soul. When he started dropping off packed lunch to Mi-Na everyday, I was smiling like an idiot. It wasn't too explicit, but do I smell love in the air for them? This is another case of 2nd male lead syndrome I have where Andrew Kang came into the picture from Ep2 onwards but it was after a closer look that i recognised him as one of the permanent cast members of Beat Coin 홍김동전(Hong Kim Dong Jeon ) and understood where his comedic talent came from. He weaves effortlessly between providing comic relief as well as tsundere mentor to the ML , which makes him such a delight to watch and it is a waste of his talent to be cast in support roles. Hope he will get Lead roles in future. This is really a drama which will make you cry and laugh at the same time. Do give it a try. It's only 12 episodes. Won't regret it.

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Best Chicken (2019) - this drama just screams amateur, which is nice if you are an open minded watcher. Almost all the characters in this drama are new faces I have yet to discover except for the chef as I have seen him in other dramas, particularly in Fluttering Warning. First part of the drama I felt hungry since it is all about cooking. The main dish is chicken, and it looks so tasty on screen. This is a light drama to watch and there is no complicated conflicts in between, maybe at the end parts but I still like it since it's not too heavy. The ending was a bit questionable, but I guess they stick with the reality.

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This is a very simple short drama that has been dragged into 12 episodes.
Personally I found most of the scenes in this drama cringy.

The story is quite random. They do not specify in detail the reasons why characters do things, (e.g Andrew quitting his job, why Choi Go likes chicken so much). There are many plot holes, especially towards the end. (e.g. what happens to Sohye dad?)
There are asmr chicken eating scenes, but not too many food scenes. If you are wanting lot's of food scenes i recommend watching the "Let's Eat" series.

The main cast acting is quite stiff and awkward. (Especially when the leads kiss). Andrews acting was quite good, but the rest isn't that great, which is understandable because they're still new to their acting career. Kim So Hyes acting has improved a tonn, I've watched her short web dramas on youtube (which is basically her voice overing and talking to the camera the whole time). I hope to see So Hye doing more bigger dramas like this!

Good OST, suits the situation. Lot's of happy up beat OST.

Sorry, I wouldn't rewatch :<

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