Modern Farmer (2014)

This drama is basically a fish out of water concept combined with music and humor. Modern Farmer is easily one of the funniest dramas that I have ever watched, I found myself laughing to the point of tears several times. This was due to the massive amount of pop culture references sprinkled throughout as well as the quirky characters. The wide array of fun and interesting people in the village as well as their interactions with each other and the band members were easily the highlight of the series. One of the most glaring flaws of this drama is the central romance, it really did not work. This is not due to the actor's abilities but due to poor casting choices. Lee Hong Ki is supposed to be playing a character older than he actually is but he unfortunately has a baby face and looks younger than his current 24 years. Lee Honey is a beautiful actress but she looks her age and is supposed to be playing a character very close in age to Hong Ki, this doesn't work and the age gap is obviously apparent. Besides that fact which other dramas have dealt with before, is that the two actors don't have a lot of chemistry. The whole romance is put on the back burner for most of the drama and only becomes a central focus during the latter half. Since so little effort is put into developing the romantic aspect of their relationship, it just never feels authentic when it actually happens. Also, the story is pretty lackluster and almost becomes an afterthought, the character interactions and reactions are the main focus of the drama. As such, whatever little plot exists developed at an extremely slow pace. I was hoping that the last 3 minutes of the last episode were a dream because that ending seemed really odd, lazily written, slightly depressing, and surprisingly realistic given that the entire drama never shot for a true to life scenario. This drama is great if you are in the mood for something light and funny, but look elsewhere for a substantial plot and romance.

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I read what I wrote below and thought “Omo, I such a fangirl!”, But aren’t we all?

Being a fan of Hong Ki since his brilliant characterization of Jeremy, I have waited for him to shine again, this time on the front stage. Alas, the dramas and movies that he participated in weren't all that bad, but didn’t satisfy me. I was hoping for more. And finally I got it with Modern Farmer.

The main role suits Hong Ki splendidly. He get to use his funny faces, mischievous looks, adorable smiles, and even some manly strength and seriousness. He is able to bring out his village swag very naturally and he nails yet another epic bus scene ^_^.

But Hong Ki is not the only leverage of this drama. Moving the action to the country, gave it a refreshing feeling and let me explore a part of Korean culture, I didn’t know much about. The cast members were able to bring a whole ensemble of colorful and unique characters, that escaped from typical drama cliches.

And the heroine! A beautiful country flower (that’s what I kept calling her in my head), that turned out to be a strong and independent woman. It was she who kept saving the boys, not the other way around. That’s extremely rare in Dramaland, so kudos for that.

I was impressed how well written and sensible the story was. In many ways it reminded of a family drama - usually 50+ episodes- compressed into 20-ep. format with the benefit of cutting out the most annoying, dramatic things and leaving only the fun and heartwarming ones. Focusing on comedy did well for the show. Although it went overboard with peeing jokes at some point, it got me giggling most of the time. The writers didn’t give up on exploring various human relations, however, romantic and other, so it didn’t feel as shallow, as some comedies are.

As for the music, it’s a 10+. Classic rock hits often enforced the humor. The whole concept of the protagonists being hard-rock musicians also fit in nicely. And Hong Ki’s song “When love comes” reminded me why I fell for his voice many years ago. (OK, so I started with fan-girling and ended with fan-girling.. FANGIRL4LIFE ^_^)

If you bored with typical drama schematics, I recommend you to watch this as it is definitely something different.

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It's a funny drama and the story line is pretty decent, not much of the ROMANCE part though. It showed courage no matter what hardships they went through. The group also showed a strong bond even though they were disbanded and shared the same love for a woman. The music is quite good as well, but it would be best if they could add more songs and more performances for the band even though they were already farmers. The casting is good however the main characters really showed the age difference. The female lead looks matured and the male lead really looks younger than her and his height added up to the age difference. All in all its still nice to see Lee Jong Ki as the male lead since I always see him as a supporting actor.

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I walked into this show expecting a comedy that would keep me laughing throughout. Instead I got a show full of heartwarming moments and laughs and I never wanted it to end.

I randomly picked this show up on New Year's eve and was immediately hooked. For two days this was the only thing I watched and I still can't believe its over.

This show is way more that "four guys going to the country to make money". It's about following your dreams, growing up, falling in love for the first time and realizing that there are always supportive people around you.

Tons of kudos to the cast. Every single character was casted perfectly and I can't imagine anyone else playing their parts. My favorite part of the show was the villagers. They are what made the show the most memorable. Everyone one of them had a dream and a story that made me feel like I know them personally.

The show resonated with me particularly because I was fed up with my city life and I ran away to a third world country and realized there so much more to the world than just staying on a straight path.

If you're hoping for romance, there's a bit of that but not much for the central couple.If the pairing I wanted had ended up together of if the romance had been presented better I would have given this show a solid 10. The comedy on the other hand is magnificent and sometimes a bit gross. But, after episode 4 on wards it tons down a bit and gets very real.

If you're thinking about starting the show just do it! You will not be disappointed.

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Well, I would say I enjoyed "parts" of this drama that I found to be funny but there were way more "parts" that I found to be 'disgusting', 'annoying' and totally 'uninteresting'...I would suggest only watching this if you love comedy and not just 'comedy' but 'over-the-top' kind of comedy. It could definitely be funny and I laughed a LOT but there were so many other scenes that I didn't think of as "funny" that were supposed to be "funny". I don't consider the overuse of 'where-ever you are bathroom breaks' to be funny (it actually grossed me out) and I don't consider a guy pursuing a girl who acts like an idiot in the process to be "funny"...I also couldn't ship a certain love-line they were trying to pursue... (they had no chemistry or any real "progress" to make it real...) so those were some BIG downer's for me...

Story: a Male band who seemingly fails every time, decides to move to the country and make big bucks by growing cabbage to sell so they can make an album - we follow their 'adventures' as they go from 'city punks' to 'inexperienced & naïve farmers'.

Cast: Lee Min Ki (Lee Hong Ki) the leader of the band, I thought he was really irresponsible throughout most of the drama (I started this drama for him though...) but I didn't finish it for him. Kang Hyuk (Park Min Woo) *anyone else think this guy resembles Jo Sung Mo?* Anyways, he was my Favorite character (and I shipped his 'love-line' :'( ) He was the most 'real' character who didn't over-exaggerate many of his scenes. He was super cute on here, all those adorable faces he'd make were worth watching^^ Whether sad, happy, in love or being cute - he was my bias <3 Han Ki Joon (Kwak Dong Yun) *now I was surprised to find out this guy played the younger version of Kim Hyun Joong on Inspiring Generation - his character on here was SO different from his character on IG* - He was the funniest character - I had a lot of LOL moments with him (I especially loved his "hang-up" scene) hehe ;) Yoo Han Chul (Lee Shi Eon) the character I couldn't stand basically - he was fine when he was serious but he over-acted and honestly his character made me nauseous & really annoyed most of the time >_< Kang Yoon Hee (Lee Ha Nui) I honestly didn't care for her unless she was around Kang Hyuk - *now this may sound harsh* but I don't find her attractive and I hated her voice....(my own personal opinion) If they would have left out any romance with her character I could deal with it but...Park Sang Deuk (Suh Dong Won) I wish he wasn't a part of this drama - he was the most revolting (at first he was fine but somewhere towards the middle I started to skip all his scenes (he basically only did 3 things every time he appeared anyways >_<)...Kim Soon Boon (Oh Young Shil) I loved her character! she made me laugh every time she laughed as she'd run off! LOL (the rest of the cast I won't mention - they were either good or bad or any other kind)

Music: the sound effects were the best - as for music I really only remember Lee Hong Ki's songs...so it's nothing overly special to me...

Re-watch Value: None, It was fine to watch once, but I have no desire to see it again.

*I personally like 'normal' comedy not 'forced' comedy...& I think this drama had a lot of 'forced' comedy in it...

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This shw is INCREDIBLE!! What a breath of fresh air to the usual K-drama set up. The writing will leave you in absolute stitches and at the same time so many life lessons can be learned.

The four male leads really carried this show and the supporting cast as farmers were so funny in their treatment of the leads that for the first time I might actually watch a K-Drama for the 2nd time.

Whenever I even think of this drama I immediately get a smile on my face while reminiscing the hilarity of Man-Goo's antics!!
Officialy my all time favourite Korean comedy. If anymore can recommend a similar hilarious comedy that is funny from beginning to end , I would appreciate it. ????

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Modern Farmer is a comedy more than anything else. Its funny from episode one till episode twenty. Some of the jokes did get overplayed, and some of them were really silly, but overall, this drama did produce laughter. Other than that, the story is so so, with the romance mediocre, if not non, the love triangle bleak, the side stories just okay and the big mystery uninteresting. The performances were nice, though, with Hongki bringing in the cute younger man to life in perfection. The other boys were good as well. I also enjoyed the romance between the "dork" and the artist girl, even though the ending was cheesy. So, overall, 6 out of 10, because it was an enjoyable drama, but not something you should watch if you are looking for something with a solide story and a good romance.

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If you're looking for a drama that makes you laugh out loud and clutch your stomach, Modern Farmer is PERFECT. This drama had me on the verge of tears - not because of sadness, but because my stomach hurt from laughing. Modern farmer was quirky and unrealistic, a light hearted show with little to no serious scenes. It was a nice break from reality. I would highly recommend it to anyone who want to forget their problems and laugh their socks off. The plot definitely odd, but not complex. The basis of the show is strange, but other than that it's pretty straight forward - not really the anxiety inducing, constantly-at-the-edge-of-your-seat kind of ordeal. What really makes this drama so lovable are the whimsical characters in a whimsical country town and their relationships with each other. This show is more family/friends/comedy focused than romance or melodrama, and the relationships between the characters are adorable and interesting. It doesn't score very high on the romance scale, but I didn't really mind. It was interesting regardless. My only complaint was the ending. It wasn't terrible, and in fact, it was strangely realistic, but realism isn't why I watched the rest of this drama, so I didn't understand the writer's intentions; there were so many loose ends and it was rather irritating. It kind of devalued the "don't give up on your dreams" theme. You'll know what I mean when you watch it. However, this didn't change the fact that I loved this drama and I would've watched it regardless of the ending. The acting and cast was perfect, and a lot of the characters were purposely overdramatic, but it wasn't a bad thing. It fit the show and only enhanced the comedy. Lee Min Ki definitely fit this role, and I want him to be in roles similar to this in the future - he just doesn't suit serious characters for me (Bride of the Century, anybody?) Anyway, every actor seemed like they were born to play the character that they played in this drama and I loved it! Okay, this drama has Lee Min Ki, so music had to be good. And it was. It suit the show to a tee and I even downloaded When Love Comes by Infinite. The music was bright and happy. I do plan on rewatching this show, or at least the funny parts, because it always makes me laugh. It's perfect for a slow day. Overall, I loved this show, and while it doesn't reach the apex of quality dramas, it's definitely one of the best light hearted dramas I've watched. I highly recommend it! All your worries will melt away~ <3

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This drama is SO underrated! I've seen a LOT of dramas, and have to say this is better then a lot of them. Just because its about farming people assume its going to be boring, its not.

This drama is about a band of musicians who were once famous in the past, however 10 years on they're all working in their own jobs, and they want to revive their once famous group, and in order to do this they need money. It just so happens that Minki at that time finds out that he just inherited a small piece of land his grandma has left him. He then comes up with a plan to grow cabbages on it until they have enough money to create a new album and revive their band.

Their journey in growing the cabbages is hilarious but also informative, I learned a lot about farming through this, it also gives you an insight on how much trouble goes into growing veg and successfully farming.

I forgot to mention the village leader where they're growing the cabbages, also happens a noona who Minki had a crush on in childhood, who is also single mother. The villagers are hilarious, there's Mingu the farming expert, there's a silent girl who's an illegal worker, an ahjumma who can't keep secret and a lot more other characters.

For me The funniest part of the drama has to be where the granddad saves the nuts from the chocolates he eats and then offers them to everyone, absolutely hilarious xD.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a fun light-hearted drama with a good story.

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Crazy characters, some seriously original laugh out loud scenes, blah ending

Through a series of events, the leader of a failed rock band ends up inheriting a farm when his grandmother passes away. He decides to get the band together to farm cabbages so they can make enough money to put out a new album. City boys start farming is the premise for this fish out of water story.

The village is populated by all kinds of personality types, with their own quirks. And once we learn more about them you know there is ripe opportunity for these character quirks to be exploited. There are several completely HILARIOUS parts in this series, so funny I was hitting the chair sofa while laughing. Some are running gags, some are new but the comedy in this series is top notch. So is the soundtrack, the music and the acting from the ensemble cast.

There were a few particular characters I did not care for, and I did not love the ending, but overall, this is a fun show to watch.

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One thing is sure, I've never had this much fun and laugh while watching some Korean drama. Seriously this drama is hilarious, it has that crazy, weird Japanese touch which lots of people don't like and I'm so glad I randomly picked it up. It was wonderful and hilarious ride, I loved it cause of its characters. Everyone of them was quirky, sweet and a real heart. People from village, so many strange people live there, I love their life, their simple way of thinking, their all kind of crazy thoughts and actions, I love the sceneries so much in this drama with all those fields of cabbages and I love those four main guys. They have incredible chemistry considering the age gap between the actors, I didn't feel that for a moment, they all looked like some young guys full of life. Their interactions were cracking me up, their way of dealing with things, that sarcasm in drama is so awesome, all of them were pretty much psychos together. As Min Ki said " You can't find not single one normal person in this village. Seriously, none."

And it is so true. I like how everything is on purpose somehow, the acting supposed to be like this, with lots of yelling, overreacting but everything in the funny way, no melodramatic scenes at all which is a plus, this kind of specific humor which I personally love but some maybe find it too much or forced, I didn't feel it that way.

The one who has won me and who carried the whole drama was Lee Shi Eon, he was the funniest and his scenes and moments were priceless, when he was alone in some scene he was at his best and that is not an easy thing to do, to stay interesting and funny all the time. His expressions were pure gold, as I mentioned he really reminded me of Ross from Friends with his gesticulations and crazy conclusions. He needs more dramas , main roles and definitely more quirky dramas like this one, he is so natural in these kind of roles like he's born like that. Well maybe he is. :P
Beside him Kwak Dong Yun was the highlight, that kid really made me laugh so much with his wild imagination and moves, he has to be in more projects in the future.

As for romance, it's actually non existing, chemistry zero and bellow, they didn't have none of the interactions she had with second lead who was way more suitable for me both physically and psychical, I rooted for them cause really didn't see it coming with main lead, it happened in the last two episodes practically everything out of nowhere. But it doesn't matter cause it's really in the background. Other couples are way more interesting and have so many crazy and hilarious scenes, I'm still laughing when I think of those moments. :P

Fantastic friendship, amazing family bond, touching moments, heartwarming scenes mixed with so many psycho and weird people and many laugh per each episode. This has to be one of the funniest dramas for me and i wish Korea produces more different and original dramas like this one. Yes it has typical Korean moments, a bit of love triangle, annoying female lead- I didn't like her character especially as drama was progressing but generally it is really good and drama worth watching.
I only didn't like that last episode, it was so rushed and poorly written but I forgive them cause they made me smile for almost 19 hours. ;)

Oh one more thing, music is awesome all the time, so many famous songs and they fitted perfectly with certain scenes, definitely drama with one of the best music in it.

If you like more non typical dramas with lots of uniqueness, quirkiness and many lunatics then this one is definitely a go. Some scenes made me laugh to the point of tears literally. It's not a drama for everyone especially for those who doesn't like this kind for humor. As for me, I loved it with all those flaws which in the end didn't bother me that much.

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Okay - so I'm really glad that I did not let the first 3-ish episodes deter me from this fun drama. The first couple of episodes are seriously silly and over-the-top with dramatics, over-acting, and goofy comedy. BUT, it is very much redeemed once you get to know all the characters. Not only are the characters redeemed (who appeared one-dimensional and somewhat petty in the beginning) but also the premise of the story.
The characters and their stories are very endearing and heartwarming. Overall, the story plays out very much like a family sitcom: a group of boys who don't really know anything about responsibility endure real life struggles through the support of their new quirky neighbors in a rural town. There's implied romance, but nothing gushy.

My favorite thing about watching Modern Farmer was how the boys mature and grow through their experience together in the rural town and gaining responsibilities and recognize their impact on others through their own hardships.

I wasn't crazy about the love triangle nor the side-character love stories, though I understand why they were used to add a layer to the story. I also found that the final 10 minutes of the final episode (epilogue) were lacking a bit. I would have really liked to see a much more matured ending with the 4 city boys becoming successful, if not together, than in their own right. It kind of bummed me out that they each kind of became good-for-nothings in the epilogue even though I know that was supposed to be part of the humor. >.<

But OVERALL, I would like to remember the silly antics and fun sitcom-like humor the rural town residents brought when engaged with the 4 city boys. Each boy really did face their own real struggles that were easy to empathize with, which made watching (while getting teared up) and continuing to watch easy! The story isn't complicated and the love triangle does not get nasty or messy, which I really appreciated. The overall message I got from Modern Farmer is be kind and supportive of others, even strangers; when others are feeling down, support and encourage them so we can get through it together. A heartwarming message.

Would I recommend Modern Farmer? Hmmm... I probably won't go out of my way to recommend it. Not because it's not good, but just because I don't think many people would necessarily appreciate the casual comedic watch it is. Honestly, there are far superior brotherly/friendship themed dramas to watch. But what makes Modern Farmers enjoyable is that it doesn't take itself too seriously, even if the story and ending themselves are not flawless - the journey is enjoyable all the same. :)

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