I've seen some other reviewers have negative opinions on how long this drama is and my biggest pet peeve is a long, boring, drawn-out drama, so those reviews made me even more hesitant to watch this. But I remember feeling so excited when news of this drama being produced first aired so I decided to take the plunge and watch it, and I'm really glad I did. This isn't the best drama I've ever watched, it's not legendary or perfect or probably even one of my favorites but, it's super interesting, and every episode left me wanting more (yes all 20 episodes) even to the point where I desperately wanted another season, and I'm the type of person that likes their dramas short and sweet (8/10 episodes). The supernatural adventures and ghost hunting aspects + the side relationships where really what drove this story forward and made it so interesting. The main relationship between Lee Seunggi and Oh Yeonseo wasn't bad perse and I literally love both actors so much and think they can have insane chemistry with others (i.e. Seunggi and Suzy in Vagabond and Yeonseo & Lee Hanui in Comeback Ahjussi), it's a shame they just didn't seem to have that spark with each other. Their relationship was cute but I found the side relationships much, much more fascinating.

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This drama, wow, I have no words. I went into it thinking it would be a light-hearted comedy about a mom going back to school to get revenge on the kids that bullied her daughter but it's so much more than that. This drama seems light but actually has very dark undertones with themes of rape, murder, underage sex and pregnancy, teacher/student relationship(s), suicide, political agenda, corruption, etc. First the plot, the plot was really well thought out and I loved everything about it. All the characters had a purpose including the supposed and actual "villains" and all the actors did a fantastic job portraying them, so much that at the end I actually felt bad for some characters despite them having done heinous things. The relationships in this drama are truly what drive it despite this not being a romance at all really. First is the relationship between Ah Ran and Kang Ja (her mother/aka the angry mom), this relationship is like the backbone to this drama and represents the will that a mother had to do anything for her child. There are other relationships between the students, and some of the adults but I won't spoil that. What I will touch on is my favorite though, the friendship (and what could've been more) between Ah Ran and Yi Kyeong. This relationship has stuck with me the most and has made me so happy and so sad. A lot of people will take their relationship as just a friendship but the truth is we will never know. So if anyone has been searching for LGBT relationships in KDramas (which are literally slim to none so you have to take what you can get), I suggest watching this.

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Shadows in the Palace sure is a journey. You definitely have to be in a certain type of mood to watch this drama, and if that mood is lighthearted, funny, romantic, etc, then this movie is definitely not for you. This movie is like a very long and grueling road trip with many hurdles and surprises along the way. It can seem to drag on sometimes but even then, the historical setting and the mystery/surprise factor keeps it interesting. This movie isn't quite my style at all, but it still kept my on my toes, and after I finished, I was glad I watched it. There are some twists and turns in the story and the ending is ambiguous but it will definitely make you think. The cast does a great job of sucking you into the story and there is heart in this movie after all. But don't forget, some of this movie definitely falls into the horror genre and some scenes can be very difficult/painful to watch, so if you're not a fan of gore.. You can still watch the movie, there's not many of those scenes and you can just shut your eyes. Over-all it's a pretty interesting movie, although I probably won't re-watch it. Ever.

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This is a very cute, light-hearted movie. As I was in the mood for a cute, light-hearted movie, I enjoyed it. The action met my expectations, as this was projected as a spy-ish, action-heavy comedy, the stunts were spot on. The actors did a great job of mixing action and comedy, and the martial arts looked good to me. There was a lot of very cool gadgets and high-tech spy-ware and regardless, the budget seemed very high. This movie was 10/10 cinematographically, the shots were absolutely beautiful, and as it was shot in several cities, the movie turned out gorgeous. While I liked the acting, it wasn't anything extraordinary, this is still a light-hearted comedy, it's not very impactful at all and it's one of those movies that you probably won't think about for very long. But watching it is very fun and it had some great comedy (especially if you're familiar with both Chinese and Korean culture)! On an ending note, this is a VERY re-watchable movie, and very enjoyable if you're in the mood for it.

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If you're new to K-dramas and enjoy other popular dramas from the late 00's and early 2010's then you'll probably like if not love this drama. It's also A LOT of peoples first or one of their first K-dramas.

However, if you started watching more modern K-dramas and or movies and you value good acting, storyline, writing, and plot then this drama is NOT for you. Now don't get me wrong, I love a good rom-com, if that rom-com is actually funny. This is very basic kind of "dumbed-down" humor where all the actors kind of act like children throwing fits and that about sums up the whole show. If you're into that then give it to try, if you're not though, spare yourself. I tried my best to keep watching this and I am not one to drop a drama but I just couldn't force myself into watching any more episodes of this. The acting is not serious at all, but I don't think it was intended to be if that helps. The plot could have been good if the acting and the writing was more intelligent. The music was very repetitive and a little cringey but a lot of people like it so there you go. Now, the thing is, I love a lot of these actors. I love, love LOVE Gu Hye-sun, but I hated her character (and almost every character in this drama). This was truly a drama of its time.

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