Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo (2016)

If I could describe this drama in one word.. : Refreshing!

Why: This drama is for those that are at home full of work and just want an escape of it all. It's a cute lighthearted series about a hotblooded buff cutie and a handsome arrogant swimmer. You'll see how they are meant to be. It's not heavy and full of misunderstandings that can't be solved till the end, instead it's easy to watch and keeps you wanting more till the end

Story: It's original and interesting.The plot sparks up our interest and makes us wonder what might come out of that. Overall the drama kept a good coherent structure of each episode sequence so as to make sure we don't get tired or frustrated about misunderstandings that might occur. A great insight on the life of an athlete.

Characters: The characters were endearing and funny, each to their own quirk. They are all very realistic and even the 'villains' of the story are shown to have a heart too and that they aren't unreasonable bullies who are just there to annoy the protagonists. I live for redeemable villains, really.

Overall: You'll wonder how this can be 16 episodes, because of how fast you watched them..

Lire davantage

I think that this drama was one of the most well-rounded ones I have watched. I feel like I flew through the episodes. I was watching the first episode and then it's like I finished the drama. It just went by so fast because it just felt so enjoyable watching every single episode. This is not a drama with like murder or somebody trying to kill somebody, it does have quintessential love triangle and also somebody who's trying to backstab somebody else. Really you watch it for the characters and their stories and you become involved in their Triumph and their defeat, and you root for them and hope they make it in their life. I read somebody else's comment I think about how the writers were a little bit of trolls in this drama, and I couldn't agree more LOL. They were trolls in the best possible way. This drama really made me laugh it made me cry sometimes but really was just super enjoyable to watch and I really recommend you taking like a day or 2 days to binge watch it all if possible because this was just a joy to watch. The couple would just keep me smiling their relationship with each other was just so much fun to watch and just made me so happy LOL I was sad that it ended. I definitely recommend you taking the time to watch this great drama.

Lire davantage

Vastly Overrated

I had high hopes for this show after seeing the high ratings, but I was sorely disappointed.
First 3 episodes and subsequent scenes with the 3 girlfriends were ridiculous, acting like 13 yr old middle high schoolers.

Lee Sung-kyung (FL) is a good comedic actress, and this show and Cheese in the Trap displayed her good comedic skill. She portrayed something completely different here than in her more serious roles in Dr. Romantic 2. She should really focus on roles that depict her actual age rather than teenage/early 20 roles. As an added note, she cried in almost every episode of this series, just like she did in Dr. Romantic 2 - it got tiring and didn't make me empathetic towards her.

Who I found especially irritating was Cho Hye-jung who played the chubby childish friend of the FL. This was the same type of role she played in Cinderella and the Four Knights. I guess she found her niche in acting by sticking to that type of character. The actress that played FL's other friend was also typecast. She played the same tough tomboy role with an attitude as she did in Itaewon Class. Both of these two friends were also on the weightlifting team but the only things I've seen them lift were hamburgers!
Also, ML's gymnast ex-girlfriend looked 10 yrs older than ML.

Nam Joo-hyuk, who played the ML, normally displays great acting skills as shown in Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (filmed the same year as this series), Start-Up, and Twenty-five Twenty-one. Too bad he didn't get to show his range of acting in this show until Episode 15 when his actual birth mother appears.

Around Episode 8, the show got boring. Every scene seemed to be unnecessarily dragged out. Starting with Episode 11, I hit the fast-forward button many times and discovered that I hadn't missed any significant parts of the series. The worst and irrational storyline was the coach embezzling 3M won from the team's operating budget to pay off one of the student's assault charges - such a ridiculous storyline as well as FL's subsequent crying frenzy that lasted way too long. Since the coach was so well-liked, the team and the professor pleaded with the school administration to reinstate her, went on a hunger strike, and FL even left the team for a brief time because she was upset. So the administration reinstated the coach but suspended her for three months with no repayment requirement. Seriously??? Someone who embezzled the team's funds deserves to be reinstated??? In the real world, she would have been charged and put in prison! This show should have been placed in the fantasy genre.

As mentioned earlier, I am disappointed in this show and will not rewatch it.

Lire davantage

How to describe my love for this series in words? How? Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo was a breath of fresh air. It was refreshing, comfortable, adorable, heartwarming, hilarious, and I just felt myself get so attached to the characters and story.

It has so many lovely messages and takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions staying consistently good each episode. The acting was beautiful and the characters are extremely relatable. The story focused on a variety of things without being overdramatic or all over the place. It also really delved into the characters background stories without focusing too much on one lead over the other.

You will not only adore main leads Kim Bok Joo and Joonhyung but also sob over their amazing chemistry. You will love the weightlifting team, family, and friends. You will find yourself laughing so hard, smiling over fluff, and getting upset all in the right scenes.

I would find myself watching this drama over again for sure it just made me smile through every single episode ;_;

Watch if:
You LOVE fluff/cuteness
You like slice of life pacing
You like awesome female leads
You like non-jerky/aggressive and adorable male leads
COMEDY "WHAT?" (you'll understand the reference if you watch)
You love feeling emotional
You love heartwarming + family scenes

Don't watch if:
You don't like coming of age/everyday/youth dramas
(I can't think of any other reason not to watch)

Lire davantage

Okay... So this is the first time I write a review in my whole life, but I really felt the need to do it about this drama
I just want to say that I'm completely speechless. Everything this drama brought to us, every episode, was like a fresh wind in the hottest days. I think I speak for a lot of people, but this drama had that special gift to put a big smile on my face in the end of EVERY episode (not the mention the last one, because damn I became a happier person bc of that).
I just want to say, and I mean it, this drama is unique, is special, is a masterpiece. Once you start watching it, it becomes like drug or something, and you want more and more... Really
A big big big thank you to the director, the producers, the cast, everything was PERFECT! Thank you so much to make me begin this new year with a huge smile on my face!
I hope this drama won't get forgotten in the next years, because they deserve all the attention, it has definitely became my favourite drama and I really hope it inspires people to create more dramas like this one!
Everything was beyond perfect!

Lire davantage

I actually pushed this drama back for a couple of weeks because I thought the premise seemed like any other school drama, but I promise it's so much better. There were no villains or dramatic tropes, just our homegirl Bok Joo growing up and gaining confidence. The male lead was adorable and had such a great personality, because I'm sure we've all had enough cold, stoic male leads. The characters were written so well and I fell in love with every single one of them, even the second female lead and that's pretty rare.

The story was really well paced and was relatively light but definitely kept me interested. It was such a cute story that kept a smile on my face the entire time. This drama broke out of a lot of tropes that dramas normally have. I love the fact that Joon Hyung was WILLING to go to a therapist to talk out his problems, and that he actually has an aunt, uncle, and brother that took him in, cared for and loved him. There was no sibling rivalry though it may seem like that from the plot description, and because the brothers were so supportive of each other which was extremely refreshing.

This couple had so so so much chemistry. They felt REAL and GENUINE and I got so many feels. The second lead female Song Shi Ho actually had a lot of depth to her character. She wasn't just a jealous ex-girlfriend there to cause problems for the main couple, and she definitely showed a lot of growth as the drama progressed.

I loved the soundtrack (esp. Parts 1 & 3) and I still have them replaying on my phone.

I thoroughly enjoyed this drama and wholeheartedly recommend this well developed, genuine, and adorable drama.

Lire davantage

This is one of the few dramas that is truly a rom/com from beginning to end. Most dramas today lose the com around episode 8 or 9 but this one was well thought out and used several good cameos to keep the comedic moments going throughout the story. I don't normally give out 10's to a drama. I'm very selective and it has to be really good and make me want to watch it over to even be in the running for a 10. I have to say that this drama is a 10. One of the biggest draws for this drama is the story. When you hear "sports drama" it's almost always something glamorous or popular like basketball, soccer, or baseball, but you would never think about weightlifting, much less women's weightlifting. Sung Kyung and the other actresses do a tremendous job at portraying a group of female athletes that are not all thin and beautiful but still have the same feelings and needs. All of the actors really portrayed their characters well and had great chemistry. The main couple, and the sub couples were all a joy to watch. But be warned, this is a binge drama that can make you lose track of time when you start it.

Lire davantage

This was my first Korean drama, and I really enjoyed it! I didn't actually know much about it, I just saw a few gifs on Tumblr and decided to check it out. So here's my first review:

Story:
I liked the story because it was different. Yes, there was romance, but it was also about the female lead realising her career goals and working to accomplish them. In fact, I was a bit surprised by how late the romance plot actually began. Also, I liked how it was set at a sports university. The problem I have with YA series set at some sort of school is that they're all quite similar. The fact that the story took place at a sports uni and we got to see the dynamics between different students within that setting made it interesting for me.

Cast:
I loved them! I didn't know any of them, but now I'm a fan of both Lee Sung Kyung and Nam Joo Hyuk! I hope to watch more of their work. I thought Lee Sung's acting was amazing. She really played her character well, and her facial expressions are both humorous and adorable. Nam Joo Hyuk is just as adorable haha, and he definitely gave me the warm fuzzies with his coy grins. Although these two were my favourites, I really liked Lee Joo Young as well. Mostly because I could relate to her character more, she was the voice of reason in their crew lol.

Music:
I watched this a while ago, so I don't particularly remember any of the songs. That's why I gave it a 7. Unlike other dramas like Goblin, whose OST I don't think I could ever forget, I think this OST didn't have any particular stand out songs. Then again, I may just have a terrible memory.

Overall:
Good characters! Good story! Very nice, heart-warming drama to watch! ^^

Lire davantage

I love to see unconventional storylines. Korean dramas have really come a long way. Having Lee Sung Kyung's character play a professional weightlifter really pushes the envelope on typical Korean Drama themes. Watching the main character grapple with her desire to excel in her sport and appearing feminine proved to create great character development. The love story between Lee Sung Kyung and Nam Joo Hyuk's characters is sooooo very sweet. The cast is pretty young, so acting is still pretty green. I think it fits the tone of the drama through. Overall, this drama is pretty "SWAG"!! You should certianly try it!

Lire davantage