Cheese in the Trap (2016)

Did not enjoy and would not re-watch. It's iconic so perhaps worth the watch for that

7.5/10 is my rating. This is 2016 South Korean TV series with
16, 60 minute, episodes. Hong Seol (Kim Go Eun) is a university student who wants to make it through college with as little drama as possible. That all changes when she notices that her Sunbae, senior, Yoo Jung (Park Hae-Jin) does things that are psychotic in nature. Those around her do not see it and she seems to be alone in noticing his dark actions. Ironically the fact that Hong Seol can see through him causes Yoo Jung to be strangely attracted to her. Yoo Jung is wealthy and used to those around him using him for his money.

spoiler ? I liked elements of this. I found the side romances a lot cuter than the main one. I like the friendships a lot. Now it’s a bit of a spoiler. I found it hard to believe with him as cold and vindictive as he could be that someone with a personality that started out as sweet as Seol would find him attractive. The things he did would fall under a sociopath. I think they were trying to sell that someone with those attributes could change. I really liked the second guy. At first I thought I would be disappointed that she didn’t end up with him but in the long run I decided she changed so much that she became a lot like the main male lead. I understood that he’d been hurt by those closest to him as a child but still could not excuse things like watching as his essentially younger brother was beat up and his hand injured. I know he said some things that weren’t exactly nice but kids say things like that sometimes. And I was really shocked later on when he would do things to get back at somebody that was way beyond what they had actually deserved and Seol seemed OK with it. And after all of that for it to end not really knowing for sure if he ever came back into her life felt like a real waste of time. I mainly just felt sorry for the siblings and the way that they were used and the fact that the father never really loved them as children but was simply using them as playmates for his son. It was a very twisted story way too much for me to like it very much. I probably rate this a lot lower than some others because I’m not super sympathetic with people that treat other people poorly so I couldn’t feel sympathy for some of the characters like I think they expected and that lessened my enjoyment a lot. I also got to where I did not like Seol a lot anymore because the way that she changed and became very cold towards the people in her life was very off putting to me it was almost as if they wanted you to believe she had become a sociopath herself. This is not one I would watch again nor recommend.

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I was really excited to watch this drama after watching some of the romantic scenes. I grew very excited and finished the drama in two days! But I was very disappointed with the ending... I'm really sorry to say, but it could have been better. I thought that the drama was good and all, but that ending really hit my heart and made me mad, and my heart was crushed.... Overall, the beginning of the drama + the romantic lovey dovey scenes were perfect, (I totally fangirled over every scene) but I really hated the ending. Right now I'm very sad...... I had such high hopes for this drama...

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Messy ending, but characters are intriguing

So yep, I really don't think this drama should be thought of a romance. But if we do see it that way, then yep — SECOND LEAD SYNDROME IS REAL. I've always been a bigger fan of the playful, comfortable, easy-to-talk relationship and how comfortable Baek Inho and Seol were with each other and how she made her laugh and how he actually had such good advice about how to live life...I LOVE him to death.

Everyone who says that the ending of this drama is a mess...they're pretty much right, but if we DON'T think of the drama as a romance, I actually loved all the characters on their own:

Yoo Jung: I've always wanted to see a main lead like Yoo Jung — cunning, resourceful, with a thirst for justice and yet he goes about it in the coldest, cruelest way. Slytherin to the core. Loved it, and honestly the end of the drama felt more about his way of thinking than anything else.

Seol: So relatable in how endlessly hardworking she was and I loved how chill she could be with her friends. It was frustrating to see who she had to deal with, but I felt like the ending scene with her in the office and seeing colleagues who mirrored her college classmates...it tied everything up nicely.

Baek Inho: I've already said I loved him and he's one of my fave character archetypes — the estranged bad boy with a temper who goes WAY soft for the girl. His character was way complex and the backstory was heartbreaking, and there was so much tension between all his emotional turmoil vs. the emotions he wore on his sleeve.

Baek Inha: If I knew someone like this in real life, I'd be endlessly frustrated with them and hate them, but in this drama she was both annoying and hilarious. I can't help but feel like her character development was way out-of-the-blue and she got the short end of the stick with how crazy the drama's plot went, but ultimately she was still interesting.

Bora + Euntaek: Loved them. I wish they got a little more screentime but they gave me the friends-to-lovers that I always crave.

With that being said, the plot definitely went crazy, but since I watched this years after it aired, I was mentally prepared for it and it turned out to not be as bad as I expected. As a romance, it was problematic because I don't think the leads were good for one another, even from the very start, but if we're looking at the characters individually, I felt like this drama had a lot there.

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Everyone should watch it at least once tbh

This drama isn’t exactly the greatest drama but it’s not the worst. This tends to happen a lot with kdramas that were webtoons before. The story tend to be pretty repetitive, predictable and even cringy at times. Back when this drama came out, it was REALLY popular. I had just started to watch kdramas and this one was EVERY where. I ended up watching it in later 2016/early 2017 and it was fine. It’s never been one of my favorite but it’s not terrible. There are moments that I loved and moments that I hated. There were characters I hated too (*cough* the male lead *cough*) but it was still a pretty good show. Honestly, I’ve always said that this was one of those essential dramas ppl should check out when you first get into kdramas. I just feel like it’s essential viewing, kinda like Weightlifting Fairy KBJ and Strong Woman DBS. Either you’re gonna really love them or be like “eh…at least I watched it.”

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Mixed Feelings

I have watched a lot of dramas over my life time, and Cheese In the Trap was the most... peculiar one yet.
To this day, I do not completely understand the ending or completely satisfied with the ending either because there was MAJOR second-lead syndrome through the drama. If you ask all of the viewers of this drama, at least 70% will agree that the second lead, Seo Kang-joon was DEFINITELY better for the main female lead, Kim Go-eun.
Putting that aside, the story overall was cute, sometimes a little confusing on what the main male lead is thinking about and to this day, I am still having second-thoughts on whether or not the main male lead, Park Hae-jin, really liked Kim Go-eun :\\\ But the cute awkward moments between them were adorable and the moments when Park Hae-jin and Kang-joon would protect Kim Go-eun were the classic "damsel in distress", but still made my heart flutter <3 :))
After Park Hae-jin and Kim Go-eun broke up and went their separate ways, it kind of left me at a loss. When the drama ended, I never completely understood what REALLY happened and what the read messages at the end really meant. But... oh well.
I did like how Seo Kang-joon and his sister, Lee Sung-kyung, came together and Kang-joon was able to make his dreams come true of playing the piano.
The first part was very mysterious and it pulled me in on who each of these characters are, especially Park Hae-jin. Then during the last part of the drama, it kind of... dragged? I could say? I don't know for sure.
What I DO know for sure is that: SEO KANG-JOON DESERVED KIM GO-EUN!!! I realllyyyy wanted them to be together because they are PERFECT for each other, but I guess Park Hae-jin's okay :\\\
I did rewatch this drama multiple times since the plot wasn't very memorable and I wasn't able to remember every single plot line.
OVERALL: I would recommend the dramas to only specific people, but to the ones who want a sturdy plot, I think it's best to stay away from this drama, or just watch quick clips of it :)

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Beware...

I don't get how this is still rated so well. For me it's one of the worst dramas I've ever watched. Don't get me wrong, it´s not incredibly boring like some dramas tend to be and neither is it of really low quality or hard to follow. It is however incredibly toxic in my opinion, most of all the 1st male lead is. The guy is seriously twisted in so many ways and I really cannot believe the female lead actually ends up with him. There's more things I found toxic in the drama, I don't wanna go into too much detail though. So while some people might've liked the story and probably didn't think too much of the toxicity and abusive behaviors of some characters, I think this drama should be watched with caution as it might be triggering for some people. I would personally recommend just skipping this one though, there's so many way better dramas out there (hmu if you need some recommendations). The only reason I finished was because I got invested in the 2nd male leads storyline, who was the only person I kind of liked in the drama. But of course like most of the time, the nicer guy doesn't get the girl....
(Apart from the male lead, I did like all of the actors btw but that didn't save the drama for me)

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I have mostly good things to say about this so i'm going to get the stinker out of the way first - I thought the ending was executed extremely poorly. I agree with the ending they are trying to portray but I thought that the execution was incredibly underwhelming and left a sour taste on what had otherwise been an enjoyable and different story to watch.

There are lots of strong characters in this one, the main leads are of course there but the seconds are just as present and have good interesting plots and backgrounds in their own rights.

My favourite character by far was Baek In Ha - her character teeters on a fine line between "ugh she's so annoying get her off the screen" and wacky enough to be different and given the relatively flat and understated natures of the main leads, In Ha's stark contrast was actually a welcome shot in the arm. The actress (Lee Sung Kyung) did a brilliant job with an almost constant stream of outlandish facial expressions - this girl wears her heart on her sleeve and hides nothing from anyone around her, but she's selfish, bitchy and clearly has some issues. It was good to see that ultimately those issues got explored as part of the male leads story, and I particularly liked the utter contrast when In Ha has something of a breakdown and ends up in care for a short while as things come to a head in the story. I am absolutely going to look up some more work from Lee Sung Kyung though, I absolutely need to see her talents in other roles!

I can draw some parallels in this story against "Remember - War of the Son" - both stories cover the warped way that chaibol kids are raised and the impacts that it has on them as they grow, how they react / respect the people around them and the impact that it has on those people. Baek In Ha and Baek In Ho are hugely impacted by what looks to be a wonderful gesture from Mr You, the father, to bring them in and adopt them - but they ultimately pay a price because of how it affects them, and that starts to talk to how In Ha ends up the outlandish character that she is.

I've read some reviews and other commentary on this show and it seems a lot of people wanted Hong Seol (the female lead) to end up with the second lead (Baek In Ho), but I must admit throughout I was routing for her to end up with Yoo Joung (the male lead) - throughout the story he is clearly developing as a person, she's dragging him to some sense of reality and she's the one person that he wants to hold on to enough that he improves himself to do it. I enjoyed his transformation including the ultimate realisation of just how far he needed to come to ensure that he didn't hurt those around him any more, and taking responsibility for that change.

For those looking for the fluffy romance, look no further than secondary characters Bo-Ra and Eun-Taek - at the start he jokingly comments that he's her "servant" but wonders when she will release him from being a servant. It's clear that he wants more out of the relationship but she seems dead set on things staying as they are. This is developed and explored throughout and was as well done as some main couple stories. I'm glad this was present in the story, it created some light moments as well as giving you multiple couples to support and hope would find their way to a happy future.

Music - nothing really stood out, I need to listen to the OST to see if I was just paying too much attention to the story.

On the topic of Music, Baek In Ho is portrayed as a character who is a genius with the Piano and numerous times in the story he is seen playing various pieces. The piano is my favourite musical instrument and I was delighted to see it included in this way - some of my favourite scenes were with In Ho and Hong Seol sitting side by side playing a piece together and having fun.

Conclusion - I think it's worth a watch, i'm not sure if i'd rewatch it in a hurry but that's almost entirely down to the absolutely rubbish way they concluded it in the final few seconds. I genuinely thought i'd pressed a skip button on my phone or something. On reflection I think they were just trying to be coy or imply the start of something bigger but having gone to the extent of the setup prior to the final moments (trying to avoid spoilers here) the final scene was just a complete let-down. One more episode was almost needed, at least, in order to put a proper conclusion to this and then i'd have been much happier with it overall.

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So where do I begin, this will be a short quick review. I have discussed my opinion and many people agree. The reason I finish this drama is because there was many interesting stories that unfolded each episode but I mainly finished the drama for a character called in ho he was adorable. The main reason I hated this drama is because of the main guy jeong. I normally like cold characters but he wasnt just a plain normal cold guy he was rude and bad as well. Additionally, I hate how the main girl soel constantly forgives the main guy jeong even when it involves herself.
Some postives out of the drama are though in ho and soel's cute friends but that's about it for me.

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Directionless Plot & Main Leads

I had wanted to watch this drama since the time it had come out, but had been putting it off cause of the mixed reviews. Finally decided to pick it up but could not go beyond Episode 10. I have not seen the movie or read the webtoon, so my opinions are completely based on this series.

Issues:
1) Why is the ML like this? He is not a black and white character, but nor is he a gray one. Just don't know why and what is he doing? The purpose or why he is the way he is did not come out, neither does it seem justified early on, which made the plot drag and slow. Plus he looked pained/constipated rather than cold and creepy. (When I see cold and creepy, it would be like Strangers in Hell characters, or Yoo Ji-tae in Old Boy, Park Solomon in The Guardians etc.)

2) Why did the ML like the FL? That progress, that gradual story development was missing. It is not a Hate-turned-Love, but just randomly one day ML decided FL is like him, when there is nothing for audience to see and understand.

3) Why is Baek In Ha like that and why does everyone let her get away with it?

There are just so many questions and I was hoping there would be answers as we progress ahead but none.

The Saving Graces:

1) Baek In Ho (Seo Kang Joon) - because of his gorgeousness, acting as a wild hot blooded second lead yearning to chase back his dreams. (You can feel that yearning at times, sense of loss at times). His affection towards the FL were cute, but not oh-so-swoon worthy.

2) Hong Seol is good in terms of the puppy character look she pulls off, but she seems aimless for someone who is supposed to be hardworking and go-getter to be employed ASAP. And all of a sudden, she fell for the ML when she knows there is something off about him and he hated her a year earlier. Like why? Why would you do that? Especially when she is supposed to be smart :(

3) The friends, especially Nam Joo Hyuk - plays the character like you'd usually expect him to (read: Weightlifting Kim Bok Joo, side character in The Idle Mermaid).

4) Oh Young Gon (Ji Yoon Ho) - he plays a good twisted, narcistic and obsessed character quite well (as far as I could see till Ep 10)

I know it is supposed to be a slice-of-life, coming of age drama - but the message didn't come across at least till now.

Suggested Alternatives:
1) Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo
2) True Beauty
3) My ID is Gangnam Beauty

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A Perfectly Imperfect Drama...

Oh, Cheese In The Trap, you tricky little drama, you.

In all honesty, I have probably rewatched this drama more than any others, which is a testament to its charm when you take into account the many, many mistakes the drama makes along the way. First off, the highlights: Kim Go Eun is a perfect protagonist for this show. She's charming, bubbly, relatable. Her voiceovers feel like a conversation with a friend. Her outfits are enviable. The OST is great, and I believe somewhat unique for a modern Kdrama. Nam Joo Hyuk and Park Min Jin were adorable comic relief. Every side character within the university was believable, though perhaps slightly over-exaggerated; I went to school with my fair share of Min-Soos and Young-Gons. You can't take your eyes off either SKJ or LSK in any scene. Despite his own protestations, I actually think Park Hae Jin did a great job showing the different sides to Yoo Jung.

In fact, the premise itself was very interesting to me (although I'm aware it is an adaptation): establishing an extremely mundane university existence (struggles with group projects, classmates, friends, family, money, first love) and placing a 'sociopath' plot right in the middle of it. The early explorations of Yoo Jung's character were gripping, with show placing seeds of doubt about his intentions as well as his general mental state. I thought the use of colour and location to show the difference between Jung and Seol's lives was an interesting choice: the unnervingly quiet monotone of Yoo Jung's home vs the unruly homeliness of Hong Seol's little student apartment. I liked getting little glimpses into his thought process, why he fell for HS in the first place, his childhood traumas and his longing to be understood.

So where did it all go wrong? When the creators decided to put Yoo Jung on the back burner and bring Seo Kang Joon to the forefront? The lack of chemistry between KGE and PHJ (although I like to argue with myself that this is a choice, that it isn't supposed to be a desirable, 'love at first sight' relationship; it's supposed to be confusing and awkward). The annoying longevity of the Min-soo impersonation plotline? The pointless drama of Hong Seol's accident? The horrifically lazy ending?

Whatever the case, I'd say the drama is still watchable, and obviously for me, rewatchable. Even if it's just to live vicariously through Hong Seol's wardrobe. Just take a spoonful of sugar with the drama past the episode 7 mark, I'd say.

Also - best theme song of a Kdrama ever. No apologies.

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I didn’t watch the show when it aired live, or when the BTS drama broke the internet. In fact when I watched it, I knew everything about it. I debated watching it many a time, and finally succumbed.

I liked what I saw. I love the colour palette of the show. It’s a soothing tone, and everything right from the styling to the sets to the music, seemed to reflect it. Can I say the same about the characters though? Not so much. Juxtaposing the calm and serene tone of the show are characters so LOUD (In Ha) and crazy (Yoo Jung) that some of it rubs the wrong way. I honestly disliked Yoo Jung (no, I haven’t read the webtoon) and thought Hong Seol was bananas to want to be with him, knowing there’s a darkness to the chap. In contrast In-Ho was so downright adorable putting up with his horrendous sister and overall bad luck that I couldn’t help but root for him.

I had a mean case of SLS with this show and I’m glad they had an open ending. If you haven’t read the webtoon like me, buckle up for the crazy ride, but if you’ve read the webtoon, you’ll probably be like the scores of others, disappointed with CITT.

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