Lovely. This is why I support the "Public Domain" movement (and CC-BY and CC-BY-SA as well), it gives writers the freedom to create new stories based on characters we are already familiar with. It gives us the "legal right" to present the "what-ifs" and let other people enjoy the adaptations.

A must watch if you are a fan of fairy tales and curious about the what-ifs of these stories. Recommended for family watching, especially with the coming holidays. It may be a modern adaptation but it still have moral lessons in it just like the originals.

Now, when are we going to see the sequels?

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Multi-dimensional characters is a winner

What I love the most with this series is the character are multidimensional. They are not your cookie-cutter template one-dimensional character that we see in many TV dramas.

While the Prime Minister and the Chairman/Father are the usual antagonist characters, evil and bad respectively, the rest are not.

For example, Doctor Moon. All he cared about was winning the competition. It was as if he doesn't care about the patients as long as he gets what he wants. Sounds selfish, right? It is. But deep down, Dr. Moon did what he did because he also had an experience he can not forget, at the same time, he has an ambition, and he truly cares about the patients.

This was touching for me because many of us judge other people based on our first impressions of them. We only see the surface and fail to understand what's driving them to be that way. Why are some people we meet always making jokes or making fun of others? Could it be that deep inside, they are broken, and it is their way of hiding it? Or maybe, at home, they live in a broken family, and making jokes and making fun is their only outlet?

I am not saying we should tolerate these things if it crosses-the-line, just us how some actions of Dr. Moon should not be tolerated when he's out of line already. We tend to forget the person inside and only see the surface.

To put it another way, there are also people who always smile, are kind, and helpful. But we forget to ask how their life is. Are those acts only there as a mask? Some people would even take advantage of them, without realising that behind it is some painful and tragic experience.

As the idiom goes, “do not judge the book by its cover”.

It was not only Doctor Moon, but the two main characters. As was explained in episode 16, the second lead couple failed to look behind the surface of the two main characters. They had a very painful and tragic life. They judged them immediately without first trying to understand what's driving them and why they do what they do.

This is what struck me about this show. It was not just a romantic story. It was not just an ER/OR drama. It's about how people judge each other.

And then there was the “it's not money that I want, it's your sincere apology”. A very powerful message itself. Often times we think too much that we forget all it takes is a sincere apology, and when something reaches the court, more often than not it was because the grace period for apologies had passed.

If a person still pursues a legal action even after apologising, that's their call. Asking for forgiveness and the rule of law, are two different things. For example, in the show's context, a medical malpractice is a medical malpractice, especially when there are clear guidelines in the first place. The victims can forgive, because forgiveness is personal, it benefits both parties, releases the burden. But the law is the law.

This series portrayed how the doctors and the Chairman/Father misunderstood apologising/forgiveness and the law. They assumed that people will sue them for medical malpractice just because. Or the victims are only after monetary compensation. We think too much that we create our own demons, when something can be solved by a sincere apology.

I'm glad I watched this drama. It's touching and full of life lessons.

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Touching, Enlightening, Provocative

《허쉬》 or "HUSH" was a Korean TV serial which ran from December 11, 2020 to February 6, 2021 in ***jTBC***. This show is about the life of a group of news reporters and how they faced the trials thrown at them.

"HUSH" started by introducing the audience to the process of getting hired in a newspaper company. Once the key characters were introduced, the story immediately tacked its first of many interconnected plots. These were no ordinary plots as it touched on the issues people face daily in work environments and in society. Stories where the audience can relate and question the ethics and morality of what they see, what they hear, and what they read.

In particular, it talked about suicide. Suicide is a very serious social problem in South Korea in recent years, it produced different movements, revision of existing laws, and even new laws, to help fight against the most common reason for suicides--bullying and unfair treatment. This show beautifully handled this subject and encouraged the audience to put themselves in the shoes of other people and to question and care about the things happening around them.

The stories in each episode and the main plot were deep and provoking. It was not simply an office drama in the world of news reporting, it was a life drama which touched the hearts and minds of its audience.

The casting was picked well especially with veteran actors like Son Byung Ho, Yoo Sun, Kim Won Hae, Lee Seung Jun, who were what is commonly called today as "second leads". They portrayed their characters well which was vital to the success of the main leads played by Hwang Jung Min and Im Yoon Ah.

Lim Yoon Ah, or "Yoona", brought all her acting skills in this drama. I can say that this was her best in all of her acting career a perfect match to her veteran male lead partner, Hwang Jung Min. From her innocent look as someone new in journalism to a matured character who earned her badges in life.

This is a good series to watch and I recommend it to anyone going through trials in their work and life in general. A show which reminds us and encourages us to speak out when we see bullying and unfair treatments and practices.

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Originally posted on my blog: https://youronly.one/yuki/review-hush-2020-202140/ under a CC-BY-SA 4.0 International License.

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Definitely a must watch show

I. Story
When you thought you have guessed the twists and turns, a new layer is introduced to prove your guesses wrong. This is rare in this genre and the writer, Hyuk Rin Jang, wrote a masterpiece.

While "The K2" was mainly about the political game, it was also about family relationships and the politics that is common in large clans with huge money at stake. This type of story is usually told by showing a dragging drama but in this TV series they approached it from an "outsider" view or as a secondary story. THe family politics was there but they were careful in keeping it from becoming the main story.

II. Acting
Excellent acting from the veteran and younger actors. The fight scenes, especially in episode one was beyond Western choreography, "James Bond" and "Mission: Impossible" can never match what they did.

I was also impressed by YoonA's acting of her character. At first it looked like her role was easy but as we get into the middle episodes, her character was challenging--she had to be a totally different person, someone with PTSD and deep hatred.

III. Music
The background music were perfect. It adds to the impact of an already powerful scene. It was good because BGMs should act as an amplifier for scenes and not as "the scene".

IV. Production
Great production. Clearly every centavo was spent to create a realistic show which captivated the audience and made the boundary between reality and fiction non-existent.

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A people's hope

Somewhere out there… in a parallel universe… “Peace Village” exists and a similar story happened which eventually led to the unification of the Korean peninsula.

Grassroots made it happen. Ordinary people created new relationships that crossed the DMZ. They showed the politicians of both the North and the South that no political ideology can separate them any longer.

I hope the lesson from this parallel universe “leaks” into our reality, and hopefully, the Korean War will end once and for all in our time. It has gone far too long, and families who were separated by the DMZ are passing on one after another. Don't let the day come when no one can remember the pain of the separation; of an eons-old dream of having one Korean flag, united and happy together.

P.S. There are only 8 episodes officially, not 12. ^_~

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A story about healing, moving on, forgiveness, and loving again

n.b.: Might contain what others consider as "spoiler" but is not in my opinion.

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At first, one would assume this is a typical romantic comedy about some couple who found each other, denies being in loved, and eventually lived happily ever after. However, one will soon learn that this is a story about healing, moving on, forgiveness, and loving again.

IU, as Jang Man Weol the owner of Hotel del Luna, beautifully brought to life her character. She successfully hid her image as the world's "Queen of Pop" with her superb acting. From a very friendly, approachable, smiling IU, she totally became the bitter, easy to anger, and strict that is Jang Man Weol. As this story spans a thousand years, IU's talent in acting shone as she took on different roles and genres in one series.

One would probably also assume that Hotel del Luna was an IU show especially since she wore countless of dresses in every 1.5-hour episode, which could range from a thousand years ago to the present. I would say she probably beaten Lucy Liu in Elementary in this area, turning a series into a subtle fashion show. However, Yeo Jin Goo made this his own show as well, himself a veteran actor who have taken challenging roles, playing as Goo Chan Sung, the Hotel Manager, equalised the show between the two actors and their characters.

The music were also great. Yeo Jin Goo's and IU's acting were more than enough but with the right music at the right time, it deepened the emotional connection to the important scenes. From action to the most heart-wrenching scenes, the music made the series very memorable and touching, especially for those who are going through the same challenges in their lives.

The writers also did well. While Hotel del Luna was a hotel for ghosts/spirits, nothing was too scary, I wouldn't even categorised this show as "horror". In each episode, they touched on different subjects about death, murder, accidents, forgiveness, and separation with the people we love, that longing desire to be with them even after life has ended. They carefully guided the show to not turn into "horror"--which amateur writers would've fallen into and throw the story everywhere--by always bringing in the light-hearted comedy of Yeo Jin Goo and IU.

Finally, the overall story of healing, moving on, forgiveness, and loving again was told perfectly in 16 episodes averaging 1 hour and 20 minutes each. This was very eye-opening for those of us who were recently deeply broken, those of us who are denying we have lingering bitterness in our hearts, those of us who are finding it hard to forgive and move on. Goo Chan Sung and Jang Man Wol showed us how and why we should heal, move on, forgive, and love again. Goo Chan Sung demonstrated to us how we should let someone heal first before entering into a relationship with them, how we can be the support they need and not give in to their every demands just because they were deeply hurt. While Jang Man Wol told us how bitterness and an unforgiving heart can lead one to live a sad, unfulfilling, pointless life, and how we can once again love by healing ourselves first.

Thank you to the whole team for bringing us an amazing production and a great meaningful story.

If there will ever be a "Hotel Blue Moon", I hope that it will tell meaningful stories as with Hotel del Luna, and that the sequel wouldn't fall into "just another entertainment show"--a common pitfall with sequels.

Hotel del Luna: 100 out of 10 stars!

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Did I just watch a true-to-life movie series?

I. Story
Overall, the story was great. The number of twists and turn, unexpected revelations, the high level political game, and the multiple layers, made this series one of the best crime drama of this decade ('10s). However, it failed closing the story properly.

In the last episode (16th), it was obvious it was rushed. There was no direction. Everything the series built up from episodes 1 to 15 disappeared. It started awesome, then became great, good, and ended poorly.

It is common among creative writers to have an open-ended story but in this case the ending was not an open-ending, no, it was a cliffhanger intended to be a premise for a guaranteed Season 2. If the intention was to have an open-ending, it should have ended with them driving to the airport. Everything else after that scene killed what made it great.

I still give it 8 out of 10 stars for the story regardless of the disaster after the "driving to the airport scene". I also applaud the writers and director for not inserting romantic scenes just because their lead female is well-known for it.

II. Acting
Suzy did well in portraying an intelligence officer. This was a big change from her usual romantic roles and I wasn't expecting she can pull it off. Yet, in the first two episodes, she already shone in her role, that's a sure sign of a talented actress.

The acting of the other actors were superb. I usually see them in dramas about family and relationships, seeing them portray political and intelligence roles was refreshing and in they owned the characters they portrayed in series.

Together, the acting were too believable I kept thinking I was watching a fictionalised true story. The characters were too real, all thanks to their acting and synergy.

III. Production
Did I just watch a 16-episode (16-hour) movie? It was clear they spent money on Vagabond to get it all right. But in the last episode the explosions were very bad. This was the other reason why I said earlier that anything after the "driving to the airport" scene should not have been included.

IV. Overall score
All things considered. I give it a rating of 8 out of 10 stars. The superb acting and quality production were what pulled it up, and for avoiding creating romantic scenes just because they have a great romantic-genre actress as a female lead.

A series I'll watch again in the future but not the scenes I mentioned earlier.

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A tribute to the original show (1971) and actors.

This was a tribute to the original show and actors.

* Detective/Inspector Park was played by Choi Bool Am in the original and the 2023/older version.
* Detective Kim played by Kim Sang Soon in the original passed away in 2015.
* Detective Jo played by Jo Kyung Hwan passed away in 2012.
* Detective Nam played by Nam Sung Hoon passed away in 2002.

Special mention:
* Actors Lee Kye In and Song Kyung Chul, were also in the original. They appeared in the last episode of this show.

I hope they release a sequel.

They can do it multiple ways:
1. Another prequel set before the original “Chief Detective 1971”.
2. Remake the 1971 original.
3. A sequel of 1971, set sometime later.
4. A modern 2023/2024 version. Continue the story line of the present time. This time, focusing on Park's descendants, and telling us the other case stories through his grandson.

If they'll choose to do a 2023/2024 version next, then those past case stories can become the 3rd sequel/prequel. For example, it will tell the story of Park's son. Was he a detective as well? How much did he adore his father, the cow-thief detective? What were his achievements?

Doing that way will fill in the gap as to how original Park's grandson became a detective, which is his father (or son of original Park).

There are plenty of ways they can go about this. And I hope they will.

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실종된 사람들과 남겨진 사랑하는 사람들에 대한 이야기입니다.

만약 여러분이 "예능적인 목적"으로 이 시리즈를 보는 것을 고려하고 있다면, 여러분은 다시 생각해보고 싶을지도 모릅니다. 이 시리즈는 관객들을 즐겁게 해주기 위해 만들어진 것이 아니라, 하나의 미션을 가지고 만들어졌습니다. 미션이 무엇일까요? 대중들에게 전 세계에 많은 실종자들이 있고, 그들 또한 그것 때문에 고통 받고 있는 가족들이 있다는 것을 알리고 상기시키기 위해서입니다.

이 시리즈는 대부분의 사람들이 실종된 사람들을 어떻게 무시하고 무시하는지를 묘사하는 데 있어 실수가 아니었습니다. 우리가 그들을 그냥 지나치거나, 책을 읽고 신경 쓰는 척 하는 것 말이죠. 하지만 우리는 단지 우리에게 그런 일이 일어나지 않았기 때문에 그 부담을 공유하지 않습니다.

이 시리즈는 그것에 관한 것입니다. 그것은 로맨스에 관한 것도 아니고, 당신이 가장 좋아하는 배우가 잘생기고, 예쁘고, 아름답기 때문에 침을 흘리는 것도 아닙니다. 그것은 작가의 스토리텔링 기술과 이야기를 실제 행동으로 옮기는 감독의 예술적인 비전에 관한 것도 아닙니다.

"미씽: 저편"은 실종자, 남겨진 가족, 그리고 실종자의 배후에 있는 상황에 관한 것입니다… 많은 용의자들은 주로 범죄 때문이었습니다.

시즌 03이 나오나요? 의심스럽습니다.

S02E14가 끝난 방식은 후원자들에게 이 아이디어를 처음 제안했을 때 목표를 달성했음을 암시했습니다. 그들은 청중들에게 실종자에 대해, 그리고 우리가 할 수 있는 모든 방식으로 여러분과 제가 어떻게 부담을 공유하고 도와야 하는지를 상기시키기 위해 이 아이디어를 끝냈습니다.

실종자 문제는 결코 끝나지 않을 '이야기'이기 때문에 개방적입니다.

시즌 03을 만드는 것은 그들이 시즌 01과 시즌 02에서 만들어낸 메시지와 영향력을 희석시킬 뿐입니다. 세 번째 시즌은 "시청률과 광고를 위해 시청자들을 우유 짜기"에 지나지 않을 것입니다. 왜냐고요? 메시지가 강력하고 이미 보냈기 때문입니다. 세 번째 시즌에서 그들이 만들어내는 모든 이야기는 단순히 시즌 1과 시즌 2에서 그들이 이미 말한 모든 것의 반복일 뿐입니다.

이를 통해 이 시리즈의 중요한 시점으로 돌아가겠습니다:

사라진 사람들과 남겨진 사랑하는 사람들에 대한 이야기입니다.

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It's scifi with the human aspect.

This is the best "Moon" to date. The #Kdrama industry once again has proven that they can produce top notch #scifi productions. They never cease to amaze me on how they can keep the human aspect strong in their stories without it turning into a regular drama.

I highly recommend this!

You wouldn't even think it was an Asian production. They surpassed Hollywood here, hands down.

Thank you Viu for providing both a subtitled and dubbed versions. I enjoyed watching both versions. A great 2023 holiday gift for your subscribers.

And congratulations to the production team for giving the world a great film.

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What I like about this show is that they showed us a glimpse of the financial world and how the 1% controls the system. Sure, more or less half of it is fiction, yet they were able to give us an idea of the workings that we, ordinary people, don't see.

However, there is room for improvement when it comes to storytelling. There were episodes and scenes which were confusing because of the constant jumping from one time period to another. There are certain actions, or plans, that takes time, but the next scene, it was as if it only took stepping out of an elevator. This was especially evident in the last episode of Season 1.

I'm not saying that they should be very detailed and write "filler" scenes to keep the time pacing, rather, they should not overdo it. It is a tool in storytelling, and like any other tools, it shouldn't be overused.

Last, but not the least, great acting from the entire cast. Not only that, great choices on who should be acting which character. Live-action shows require having the perfect cast, we shouldn't cast someone just because they can bring in audiences because of their popularity, or because we are building an actor up. Casting should be first and foremost based on the character they are going to bring to life. If actors fit their characters, then their acting overall will be in harmony with each other, making the entirety of the show feel like it was actually real.

I hope there will be a Season 02. This is a great show. Watch it.

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The best part of our lives

I love this! It captured that moment when we were in High School (Grades 10, 11, 12 in South Korea; Grades 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 in the Philippines).

It was a very good throwback to the best day of our lives. When we were so young, innocent, brave, that part of our life where we were trying to carve a name for ourselves, trying to be independent, yet reality is pushing us back. That point in our lives when we start to hate our parents/guardians because of this and that.

But, today, as adults, we are saying the exact same thing to the kids of today. Go study. GO STUDY! It is not the time to be in a relationship. Or, us adults find it hard to trust kids because WE KNOW EXACTLY what is going on in their minds and what they are and will do. Why? Because we've been there ourselves.

To some, relationship became the reason their grades fell. While for some, it became the reason they became the top of the class. Some got distracted because of it, some it was a source of inspiration.

That is what this show is about, High School life, and how we were poking into the world of adulthood, yet too afraid to face make a stand. Where we thought we knew better, only to realise, often the hard way, what we know about ourselves and about life is nothing.

EVEN SO, it is that point in our lives that many of us wants to go back to. The fun. The feeling of being sooooo muuuuch in love. Laughing with our friends. With absolutely no care about the world.

To kids out there, enjoy your school life. Play hard. Live it. Laugh all you want, cry all you want. Be in love. Feel all the pain of break-ups. Because, trust us, once you are an adult, you will never have time to play, you will never experience that kind of life ever again. You will never have time to laugh, NOT EVEN to cry. And all the pain you will experience as an adult, you will lock it away. And all the love in the world, you will learn to ignore it.

It sucks to be an adult. So, enjoy your High School life. Make the best of it. Make a lot of good memories, and learn from all the bad memories. It will shape you. It will be the source of your strength and success one day.

You may hate your teachers, those subjects, but they will become useful in your adult life.

At that age, you think you know what you want to become and what job you will apply to, but no, more than half the time, things doesn't go according to your plan.

You hate math? Who doesn't? You are thinking you don't need to learn history, or English because it has nothing to do with the job you want? We all assumed that, too.

But, you know what, kids? We were wrong. Even in the type of jobs where it's 99% not needed, there is always that 1%, and you will wish to paid attention to your teachers.

Enjoy your life at eighteen, or you will regret it later.

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A masterpiece!

What an awesome film. It touched my heart too.

1. How they split the different part of his life, and in order of importance instead of chronological, that was a brilliant idea. It helped built the foundation of the story, the major message, while at the same time allowed them to insert other lessons along the way.

2. It was also not about the main character, but it also reflected the lesson for the other characters, most especially the senior grim reaper.

3. The CGI is perfect. If the CGI becomes ever more realistic, it would only distract the audience. If it was less, it would make the film cheap. It is important to strike the balance between eye candy and the message of the story. Well done.

4. Choosing to set this story as a film instead of a TV show, or an episodic film, was itself a good decision. Keeping it as a film guaranteed the focus remain true, instead of adding other side stories that can lessen the impact of the story (and even distract the audience).

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Good ending but …

MORAL OF THE STORY: Do NOT enter a location when you see people wearing PPEs. (If you are a nurse, you should know this already.)

I applaud the screenwriter for not shying away from killing a major character. There are very few screenwriters who are brave enough to do it, often screenwriters choose the "they happily lived ever after" route.

However, as the intro to this post hinted, I do not approve the sudden stupidity of a major character just to get that character terminally ill. Go Mi Ho was a nurse. She is intelligent and full of wisdom. Where did her intelligence AND WISDOM go in the cave sinkhole episode? Then after that episode, Mi Ho became intelligent and full of wisdom again.

In that one episode, she suddenly acted a hero when it was never part of her character, and after that episode, she never acted a hero either. She is intelligent AND WISE. She took calculated risks. She was no hero, before or after. But in that one episode, she acted a dumb hero which led to her getting exposed to deadly radiation.

Sure. There are people who would have done the same as she did but that is a rare thing most especially when the people escaping a disaster are wearing PPEs, and you happen to know as well as corrupt and evil the operator of that cave. All for what? For that character she saved to only die WITHOUT contributing anything to the plot after he was saved.

That episode. Go Mi Ho suddenly throwing her intelligence and wisdom out the window was only meant to get her terminally ill. No more, no less. It was very weak. They could've have used a contaminated bottled water or fish planted by Choi Do Ha, or some other method other than letting her do something out of her character.

People rarely do something like what she did unless they have a very, very, very strong conviction which Go Mi Ho did not possess. She took calculated risks for her husband, that was the entire driving force behind her. Her saving people begins and ends with her working as a nurse, outside of it she didn't do anything.

Again, good job on not being afraid of killing a major character. But very bad job on how to get that character terminally ill.

From 10 stars, it's down to 8 stars.

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