The acting is absolutely top-notch, the music is currently on infinite repeat in my apt, and I would watch this drama again.
I wished that there were more heart-pumping, squee/cringing moments--that kind that make you feel embarrassed and avert your eyes to give them privacy. But that's just me.
If you enjoy having a characters of the following variety:
love-to-hate, endearing, kick-ass, hilarious, hopelessly tragic, and one-you-watch-bc-you-fell-in-love-with-them-in-a-diff-drama/movie/etc
THEN THIS IS THE DRAMA FOR YOU!! ;D
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This story is based on actual historical figures of China. The story is simple but its crafting is done by some skillful hand. It’s genius and witty story. The way story flows makes this story a masterpiece. You can’t tell its specific genre, It’s full of comedy, suspense, some action, romance and melodrama and it’s all about power. It’s unique in its own way and totally unpredictable. This is a serious tale about power struggle in corporate world. It is all about serious corporate battle but it has killer funny scenes that’ll make you laugh hard and you’ll shed tears by laughing and there is also balanced melodrama. And for romance fans there are sweet romantic scenes too.
Casting is brilliant. There aren't any flat or one-dimensional characters, all characters are dynamic. The relationship between four main characters is really interesting. It’s very unusual kind of relationship. Here you won’t find any female lead quivering in fear; female leads are hot-shot. And supporting characters and side characters are also great. You may find one or two characters bit stupid at first but it’s because of story and they’ll develop in strong characters later. It’s really hard to pick a favorite character, including supporting characters because I also loved all supporting characters including villains.
Other interesting thing is that every episode has something to learn…You’ll also learn many things from Korean sayings.
One of the best things about this drama is....ending of every episode!! Don’t miss them!!
Soundtrack is also very good and well matched with all situations. It’s catchy. And also dance in war background is extremely funny.
I definitely recommend this drama even if you don’t like corporate plot. If you are bit interested in comedy then you’ll like it because it’s "LOLIEST" drama till date. I changed my opinion for BEST OF 2012, now best of 2012 is HISTORY OF THE SALARYMAN!! DO NOT MISS IT!!
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Story- I honestly don’t know where to start! The first half of episodes deals with the main character Yoo Bang trying to make it in the business world. Along the way we are taken thorugh hilarious antics while he fails a lot and but starts to succeed by the middle of the drama. During that time the murder mystery gets solved. After that your wondering how are they going to fill the rest of the episodes. Well there is a lot that happens. After Yoo Bang Succeeds he hits a roadblack, succeeds, then falls once again. Basically the theme in this drama is power. Everyone wants it and you get to see what all these characters (good and bad) do to obtain it. I never expected I’d laugh so hard from episode 1 all the way to the very end. I usually never give a 10 for a dramas story because I always find some fault somewhere but seriously this drama is perfect. The ending was the most original I have ever seen in a drama. It definitely keeps in line with the tone of the show.
Acting/Cast- Perfect casting! I like that the writers wrote the characters in a way that everyone’s role was important whether they were a lead or supporting. I loved the 4 leads the most but Jung Gyu Woon really outdid himself acting wise. His character was complex because he was one of the villains but you really can’t hate him for it. It was very interesting to see all these different sides to him. Yeo Chi was another character that I absolutely adored. I loved that they made her a chaebol but not your typical well respected one. She cusses a lot and shouts at everyone but I love that she never hides her emotions. I think her character development was really well written.
Music- the score matched the scenes so well as they helped to heighten the ever-changing moods. The OST was very good but there is this one song that I put on my ipod cause it was so fun and catchy.
Rewatch- I can rewatch this drama once a year because it’s so freaking hilarious.
Overall History of a Salaryman is the most innovative show to come along in a while. It might be a change from your typical preference but if you give it a chance you’ll be in for 22 hours of nonstop entertainment!
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This drama is definitely a must see drama. I really enjoyed the whole story. Its crazy what people would do for money, power, and vengeance.
The four leads play amazing roles. Jung Ryeo Won and Lee Bum Soo, my two favorite were hilarious and acted well together. Jung Ryeo Won (Baek Yeo Chi)has a serious cursing problem (beware it might me contagious lol).
Music OMG this drama has diversity!!! From Guns n Roses to Beyonce to Super Junior....just love it!!!
Really recommend anyone to watch this awesome drama. It will make you laugh, cry, and maybe even want to slap or kill someone lol jk :P
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it is funny, witty, emotional, romantic and addicting, i wasn't bored at all it kept me on the edge of my seat(usually a drama gets kind of boring and starts to lags)but this drama had non of that* i couldn't watch any of the new dramas but this one was just AMAZING.
from the start the drama had potential the cast looked stable although i didn't know any of the actors except for Hong Soo Hyun, it won me over its better than the most of the dramas out now which have respectable and highly noted actors. this drama deserves more than a 10 the story didn't confuse me the actors did a great job, the story background for the actors made sense and at the end all my questions were answered. The story was vary well written and the characters were interesting and fit the story well.
In conclusion the story had a lot of components for example friendship, love, business, success of a poor man, an arrogant guy falling for a sweet girl, it was hilarious, it was a great melodrama.
all in all it had all the components i search for when searching for a drama.
If you watch this you wont regret it * i usually don't take the time to write a review about a drama that isn't AMAZING* this is the BEST drama of 2012*
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This review may contain spoilers
Why are you not watching this drama right now?! Why are you still here reading this?!Fantastic, from beginning to (almost) end. Here’s a few adjectives: Creative, swagalicious, crazy-wtf epic, pee-in-your-pants funny.
Characters: I could not, for the life of me, hate a single character, not even the bad guys. Yes, they were flawed, sometimes too flawed, but isn’t that what makes them more complex and, you know, human. I had read some comments about how much they hated Hang Woo (one of the 4 main characters) in this one scene, followed by liking him in another scene, then wanting to strangle him in another, then back to wanting to have his babies (oh, you guys). Although our actions may be black or white, our human hearts are not all black or all white. That character did very bad. Yes. Then, he did very good. Okay. That character is either bad OR good. No. That character is human.
Music: Zero complaints. Fit the scenes. When a song helps move a scene along and send chills down your neck for what’s about to go down, somewhere, out there, a music director deserves a hug (and a basket of cookies). (-1, not memorable)
Does it drag: Not once. Even when it seems like it is, think again.
Is there romance: Yes.
Is there a lot of romance: No.
Is it actually funny: Yes. The scenes following episode endings are hilarious.
Will I hysterically laugh: Likely.
Will I cry: My heart’s partly made of steel, so I can’t properly answer. There’s actually very few tearjerker moments.
Almost a perfect score. Why not? Was it not a happy ending or a satisfying drama: Happy, you betcha. Not satisfying (as a whole).
Rant with potential spoiler: There were some plot conveniences, nothing big (-1). There was a two episode extension, but an extension to the extension could have helped. That, or the ending could have been better executed (-1). I wanted more from the romance department (not asking for the whole cake, just a slice). It was a bit awkward watching the relationship, of one of the main couples, advance, as there wasn’t much chemistry to begin with, as there weren’t many romantic opportunities to build chemistry (without deviating from the plot). The story started in one direction and shifted to another towards the end, with a somewhat clichéd and not-as-creative-as-previous-episodes ending. ***I wanted a bigger final showdown between the male leads or have all main characters join forces against the bad***. I wanted an epilogue. I need a part 2!
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In this drama there were like 5 major "wars" that kept the story going. By wars i mean major events, so this drama was not only about what happened 3 months back. All the characters changed especially my fiery haired goddess, the main girl, who matured a lot b/c at first I hated but I absolutely love her. I wish I can cuss in 3 different languages, it so funny. Omg remembering everything, makes me want to watch it over. Everybody needs to watch this drama so you can understand what I'm talking about. I love it so much:)
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Kim Seo Hyung as Secretary Mo is no joke. She excelled in making me hate the character and I appreciate her for it. That laughter is something else. Lee Bum Soo cracked me up as the confident and witty Yoo Bang, I like the fact that he looked for a way to over come through out the drama. I'm told that I should watch Giant next. Jung Gyu Woon had me totally conflicted with his hot/cold character Hang Woo from beginning to end. Do I hate him? Do I love him? I still don't know. Why isn't Jung Ryeo Won in more dramas? I totally fell for her as Yeo Chi. I hope to see her more. Hong Soo Hyun was fun as the smart and beautiful Woo Hee. I really liked the strong female characters. All of the other actors were good also.
The music is excellent.
This is probably something I will rewatch someday.
I think that this drama can be enjoyed by anyone. I highly recommend it.
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After marathoning it during a long weekend I can clearly state that it's one of a kind and so I believe it's one of those dramas that you either hate or love.
I personally enjoyed how flawed the four leads were; made it seem more realistic than other stories I've seen.
Lots of 10s because it was truly outstanding. I'm not sure I'd rewatch the whole thing though because it's 22 episodes long but I would definitely find my favorite scenes to have a good laugh again.
You'll laugh a lot, you might cry and you will definitely want to choke a few characters but hey, it'll be a fun ride.
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