Une série qui nous montre du girl power !
On a tout dans cette série.Tout d’abord, de la romance . Je n’était, au départ, pas très fan de Jang Gi Yong / Park Morgan, je ne le trouvais pas très expressif. Puis, il a souri et la terre a changé d’axe de rotation. Sa force tranquille, son petit œil taquin, ses remarques incisives, ses fêlures et blessures. On est bien loin de l’image du lead telle qu’on a l’habitude de la voir. Et quand il s’emporte dans un élan d’amour, on craque, tout simplement.
Im Su Jeong / Bae Ta Mi, n’est pas en reste d’ailleurs ! Enfin un drama où le couple se dit les choses ! Bon sang c’était si dur de faire dans la communication ?! (oui messieurs et mesdames les scénaristes, c’est à vous que je m’adresse!).
Enfin une romance qui ne reste pas prude, on est plus à la maternelle, se tenir par la main ça suffit et on a droit ici à quelque chose de plus mature tout en restant dans le tout public.
Le deuxième couple m’a fait craquer complètement avec Lee Da Hee / Cha Hyeon qui sait se montrer aussi terrible qu’un viking en mode berserk et qui devient aussi espiègle qu’une souris sous amphètes dès qu’elle s’amuse (et parfois les deux en même temps !). Et le beau Lee Jae Wook / Seol Ji Hwan qui, comme toujours, crève l’écran tout en restant simple.
Ce que j’ai apprécié le plus dans ce drama, c’est qu’il nous prend à contre-pied, il nous surprend en utilisant les codes classiques des K-dramas pour, tout d’un coup, les balancer et partir dans une voie totalement inattendue. J’ai adoré ! Et ça donne un sacré coup de frais.
La toile de fond est particulièrement travaillée également car on a une critique de la société mais aussi du gouvernement et tout ça prend place dans deux cours de jeu différentes qui nous montrent, symbolisé par deux entreprises en lien avec le web, la Corée du Sud traditionnelle qui se confronte à la celle de nos jours où les jeunes actifs changent de rythme, de philosophie et d’habitudes de vie. Plus question pour eux de se déguiser chaque jour en pingouin, adieu l’image du salary men / women qui ne comptent plus ses heures au travail. Fini les jeunes juste sortis de l’école qui n'aspirent qu’à se marier, ou se faire marier, pour faire des enfants et s’enterrer dans une vie bien rangée. La nouvelle génération est bien déterminée à vivre, à montrer son individualité et à la protéger contre les conservateurs d’un époque révolue et moribonde.
Enfin, le girl power. On a droit ici au chemin, je dirai initiatique, de trois femmes très différentes qui sont liées depuis très longtemps et dont les destins se croisent. Elles se cherchent elles-même, elles se confrontent, s’affrontent, se découvrent. Chaque épreuve leur sert à grandir, changer et devenir une meilleure version d’elles-même. Certaines sont aidées par des alliés parfois complètement inattendus( je pense notamment à l’arc sur Jeon Hye Jin / Song Ga Gyeong ), d’autres s’imposent d’eux-même comme le fait le personnage de Brian / Kwon Hae Hyo.
Chaque personnage est vraiment bien travaillé, même les secondaires ou les guests. L’action est prenante, les émotions présentes, oh ! Combien présentes ! On rit, on pleure, on est remués, on est touchés. Je veux d’autres productions du même tonneau !!! J’ai bien retrouvé la patte des réalisateur sur cette série comme celle que j’ai pu apprécier dans The King: Eternal Monarch de Jeong Ji Hyeon ( je ne peux pas parler pour Mr Sunshine, je suis une des rares personnes à ne pas l’avoir apprécié ) ou Doom at Your Service de Kwon Yeong Il.
En résumé, filez le voir, c’est un ordre, vous ne serez pas déçu.
Maintenant à vous de vous faire votre avis.
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Trois beaux destins de femmes, chacune sur son chemin.
J’ai passé un excellent moment devant ce drama, pour deux raisons :La première, c’est un drama de femmes, ce sont elles qui mènent la danse, prennent les décisions, font des choix de vie qu’elles imposent, qui réussissent à se débarrasser des carcans de la tradition, du poids de la famille… Et même le traditionnel chaebol, figure tyrannique au cœur dur, est aussi une femme, incarnée par Ye Soo Jung, plutôt vue en général dans le rôle de la gentille grand-mère !
La seconde raison, c’est l’excellence de l’écriture pleine de finesse, d’humour et d’intelligence, surtout dans les relations amoureuses, des dialogues et du scénario, et la conception des personnages, réalistes, sans caricature, ni angélisme ou manichéisme. Les relations entre eux sont intelligentes, touchantes, amusantes, parfois grinçantes et même haineuses.
Les trois couple principaux sont très différents, celui de Tamy et Morgan se partage entre un amour puissant et un problème de choix de vie qui va les amener dès le début à remettre sans cesse en cause leur relation… Le fameux « je t’aime mais je te quitte » est ici parfaitement expliqué, compréhensible, justifié et n’est en aucun cas le ressort habituel prétendant à créer un faux suspens dans le dernier épisode… Vont-ils rester ensemble ??? la question se pose, la réponse qui n’en est pas une est donnée avec justesse et finesse… C’est le premier drama style « romance » que je voie où les deux passent la nuit ensemble dès le premier épisode (et pas seulement à discuter, vous pouvez me croire ! ) et où cela ne règle pas la situation, façon « bon, c’est réglé, on passe à autre chose ». Tamy remet sans cesse leur relation en question (âge, choix de vie,…) et cela donne des scènes aux dialogues savoureux et drôles, où la sensualité est bien présente, sans fausse pudeur bébête.
Le second couple est celui de Ka Kyung et Jin Woo, mariés parce que les familles l’ont décidé, et Ka Kyung veut se libérer de ce faux mariage. Elle devra s’opposer à sa belle-mère, la terrible chaebol et à ses propres parents, et c’est son mari qui va l’aider. C’est une très jolie relation que celle-ci, entre une femme que la vie a rendue dure, froide et apparemment insensible, et un homme qui semble être pareil, mais au fil du drama ces murs vont se fissurer, et cet amour qui refuse de dire son nom est particulièrement touchant .
Le troisième, c’est celui de Cha Yun qui va rencontrer par hasard un jeune acteur débutant, Seol Ji Whan, qu’elle va prendre d’abord sous son aile, puis l’amour fait son apparition… C’est le couple le plus proche du traditionnel couple romantique habituel, sauf que là aussi c’est la femme qui en est le personnage principal.
Ce drama à mes yeux est un grand pas en avant dans l’image que ce genre de spectacle donne de la vie coréenne. Par exemple, les employés et cadre de l’entreprise se donnent des noms anglo-saxons, afin de pouvoir se parler sans les fameux honorifiques et ignorer le sacro-saint mythe de l’âge !! Vous me direz qu’ils pourraient le faire sans changer de nom, mais les changements se font progressivement !
Et non seulement les femmes du drama se libèrent, ou sont déjà libres, mais les entreprises elles-mêmes, sous l’impulsion de leurs dirigeants, cadres et employé, s’opposent à la puissance politique et à celle d’un conglomérat …
L’interprétation est excellente, j’étais ravie de voir Lee Da Hee pour une fois rire, sourire, dans un rôle drôle et sympathique, mais mon Dieu que cette femme est maigre !!! C’est impressionnant ! Pareil pour le plaisir de voir Jang Ki Wook ne plus plier sous le poids d’un lourd passé, ou d’une vie de ténèbres, mais lui aussi, rire et sourire (très agréablement) et même parfois il écarte cette frange épouvantable qui lui descend jusqu’aux yeux !!! Et lui a gardé (pour l’instant) ses joues, n’a fait refaire ni sa mâchoire, ni son menton et a gardé le visage typique coréen !
Pour finir l’OST est vraiment bien, les chansons jolies et surtout on ne les comprends pas…
Le défaut, c’est celui de pratiquement tous les dramas coréens, c’est la longueur, et par moment on aimerait que la réalisation se presse un peu ! Un mot sur la réalisation, tiens ! Elle est très étudiée, très raffinée, sans tomber dans la mièvrerie et le maniérisme (juste au bord parfois !) avec des cadrages originaux, du travail sur l’image jouant avec le flou et le net, et la profondeur de champ…
En conclusion c’est un bon drama, distrayant, aux personnages attachants et à l’histoire originale sortant des sentiers battus !
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Une déception
C'est un drama que j'attendais avec impatience de voir et j'ai été très déçue. Le concept de départ était intéressant. L'univers était original et la romance au premier épisode me faisait déjà sourire. Mais je n'ai pas du tout réussis après 6 épisodes à accrocher aux personnages, à leur histoire. Seule Cha Hyun a réussi à me toucher. Je n'attendais que les moments où elle apparaissait. Mais l'ennui de la presque totalité d'un épisode m'a bien vite fait renoncer à poursuivre ce drama. Je ne suis pas contre les femmes fortes et indépendantes, bien au contraire, mais lorsque le drama ne tourne qu'autour d'elles, de leur peine, de leur souffrance, de leur passé et que les hommes deviennent des faire-valoir, je trouve cela déséquilibré et pour ma part, l'ennui s'est bien vite installé. Bien entendu cela n'engage que mes goûts personnels, mais pas une seule fois mon coeur ne s'est affolé, pas un seul éclat de rire impromptu (mis à part les quelques scènes avec Cha Hyun) n'est venu égayer mon salon.Cet avis était-il utile?
1It has the perfect blend of everything.
Extreme Women Empowerment. Spicy kisses and chemical romances. Badass Women. Charming Men. Excellent acting. Crisp story-telling. Adrenalin rushing fastpaced moments, complimented with slow and emotion-filled scenes. Brilliant OST. Epic Sismance. Bomb fashion sense. Stunning direction. An ending that tied all loose ends...
I mean really, at this point I'm wondering if there's anything this show didn't have?
It maintained quality from start to finish and had me hooked till the very end. There were some mildly annoying things about the main couple and the poorly timed product placement but they could be considered fairly negligible.
I already wrote a detailed article on this drama, so I'll keep this review short and sweet. Bottom line is that this show is excellent and you need to watch it right now!
BYE
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Two smaller points I want to point out here because it does not really fit elsewhere. First, the camerawork creates some beautiful shots using the environment and open spaces (Who remembers Angel Ta Mi?). But, sometimes it butchers the emotional delivery of some scenes as it zooms and rotates into the actors’ faces. Second, the rich, experimental story immerses the viewer, and the PPL (product placement) becomes especially jarring as it breaks that deep immersion. Still, I will remember this drama for its highs, not lows, and easily recommend this to all drama viewers as a great example of a modern Korean drama.
Story:
The story is surprisingly refreshing given that the average age of its main characters skews older than the usual mini (16 ep kdrama). No young chaebol inheriting his director position from his grandfather, the women in Search: WWW clearly worked hard and sacrificed much to reach their positions. Given the main female leads’ maturity and high social position, it is a challenge to add believable conflicts, especially given its genre. Search: WWW overcomes this struggle and shows that everyone can grow, no matter how mature, and that there will always be a bigger fish, no matter how high you rise. So, its fallback to some typical kdrama conflicts is understandable and not a blemish.
I wish the same could be same about the main romance in the drama. I want to make a distinction between the content of the romance and the pacing of the romance. The pacing, like the overall story, is refreshing, and relationships grow and stumble at unique points. It weaves itself with the office plot to deliver entertainment in every episode, especially the secondary romances/relationships. However, the content of the main romance is a bit shallow upon closer examination. It attempts to highlight the age and ideological differences between the two leads, but they act like they are designed by the same aged person(s). Specifically, the male lead acts like how someone in their 30s/40s imagines someone in their 20s.
Ultimately, the main drivers of a slice-of-life drama is its characters and not its plot points nor romance. And I can go on and on about the depths and strengths of the entire crew of characters, even the slightly obnoxious Morgan. To keep this review a reasonable length, I will just say that the characters are 10/10, and I somehow found myself rooting for each one of them, protagonists and antagonists alike.
Acting:
Starting with the actresses, the leads are a minimum 9/10. I hate (read “love”) to nitpick but Jeon Hye Jin could have shown slightly more range, given the nuance of her character, beyond the serious/contemplative facet. Also, Lee Da Hee is one of my favorite actresses, but she is almost getting typecast into the rash archetype. The main female lead, Im Soo Jung, is faultless, but don’t get me wrong, all three are amazing in their own ways and carry the show together.
Out of their male counterparts, Lee Jae Wook is the most memorable, and I look forward to his potential growth (he’s 21 when shooting this drama!). I am also impressed with Ji Seung Hyun, who I underrated because his profile shows that he’s mostly been on support/guest roles. As you can tell, expectations do color my judgement, and my expectation for Jang Ki Yong did not get met, but he does have some redeeming moments near the end.
Music:
Search: WWW has one of the best OSTs I’ve listened to in recent kdramas. “Well-rounded”, “In sync”, and “Complementary” all perfectly describe the musical core of Search: WWW. It is impossible to not like at least one of the songs in the OST and very likely that you’ll love them all. I usually write very short reviews of the music, but I need to take the time to rave about the musical cast.
First, shout out to the fierce women of Mamamoo, extra for Moonbyul with her writing credits. Could not have picked a better kpop act to mirror the strong female characters of the drama. Second, Jang Beom-Jun bringing that husky Busker Busker voice that was extremely popular in the early 2010s. Sam Kim was also popular around the same time, but I am not as big of a fan. Kudos to Sam Kim, Elaine , and O3ohn, even though I do not know much about them. Third, huge props to Lee Da Hee for fearlessly busting out her singing chops. Fourth, OST veteran, Kim Na-Young, who has been killing the music charts with her latest single, “To be Honest”. She delivers another great performance for Search:WWW.
Take it how you will, but the music is the strongest aspect of this drama. I didn’t even skip the parental advisory, so I could sing along with “show you a bad girl”. The OST flawlessly supports the drama and keeps true the show’s topics and themes, and all the songs are still worthy of a listen without knowing anything about the drama.
Rewatch Value:
As high as the relisten value is for the OST, the rewatch falls a bit short, which I usually judge on story or cast. The story’s female-centricity is refreshing but no longer unique in kdramas. I find the women of “Because This is My First Life” more relatable and the women of “Sky Castle” to be more entertaining. In terms of cast, I’m a bigger fan of the previous works by the main cast, such as “Chicago Typewriter” and “Beauty Inside” (“Misty” is high on my “to watch” list). Jang Ki Young is equally mediocre in his past works (“Kill It” is low on my “to watch” list). Ji Seung Hyun mostly does support/guest roles. However, I do look forward to Lee Jae Wook’s next drama, “July Found by Chance”. So, it’ll be difficult to find time to rewatch Search: WWW.
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They tried to make a new kind of drama, where women have power, where they cand dress how they want, put makeup, accessories and date whoever they want in whatever manner they desire. I really liked that. It had a F*ing strong start.
The first few episodes are my favs and I would rewatch those but not the full drama. Ok so onto what bothers me:
The love story: Starts in a refreshing way for a kdrama, I mean, it s not the usual korean drama couple. But as you go into the story, her not wanting to get married, him wanting to, the endless and pointless drama between them bored me very much. The ending was as boring as their couple story. I must say that his acting and way of being (the resting bitch face and voice and everything) was more suited for Kill It (where I really liked him) or the other drama with the serial killer (come and hug me- I think). Not here.
What kept me going? SCARLETT. GODDAM Scarlett was everything, I swear. She ended up being the only one I cared about, her style, personality, everything.
***IMPORTANT: if this was a drama focused on Cha Hyun(scarlett) I would have given it a 10 (so you can watch it based on this little detail)
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I truly think the heart and soul of this drama belongs to Scarlett. Her character exudes "main role" as she racks up screen time. I only kept watching the drama because of her story; also because of the web portal plot. Everything else, mainly the romance, was filler that wasn't needed.
I would rate it 8+, but because of the romance, it sits at a 6. I don't find it re-watchable since half, or more than half, of the story is the main romance.
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I never thought a drama centered around competing search engines would appeal to me in the least but what do you know, it did. I mean all the other elements really helped, like Bae Ta Mi and Park Morgan's intense relationship, Cha Hyeun's stellar personality, and some serious drama between Song Ga Kyun and her evil family.
Speaking of Bae Ta Mi and Park Morgan's relationship, man TaMi was and extremely complicated woman, brilliant, tough, and cute, but poor Morgan, she made it very difficult for him though you knew she cared about him a lot, even enough to let him go at times, it was a bit tough to watch sometimes.
Cha Hyeun was hilarious, I knew I would love her from the moment she beat the guys ass in the elevator for grabbing her but, and the cute relationship she get's into later in the show is too fun.
Speaking of fun relationships Bae Ta Mi and Cha Hyeun's relationship was the best, at first rivals turned out to be great friends and super fun to watch as well.
The interesting story between rival companies and outside influences trying to control them set up tension throughout the series and provided an excellent storyline that kept you guessing.
I loved Bae Ta Mi's team at Barro, they really seemed like a family. It even made me jealous, I was like what a cool place to work.
I would definitely recommend this, a definite 10!
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the issues regarding real-time keyword search was good too but it was unresolved until the end of the show so i wasn't really tuning in on that.
tbh for me what really spiked up the drama was scarlett & jihwan !! so glad they added these two to the plot or i would've dropped it half way. jaewook's first appearance was arnd ep7 and i start to continue watching the drama again. ngl i had high expectations from the reviews i've heard but it was somehow underwhelming. #JiHwanSaviour tho
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I'm glad my search lead me to "WWW"... Strong Woman Lead x3
I'm so glad I decided to finally watch this. I was struggling to find something to fit my current drama mood, but when I saw so many not-so-great reviews and the tags "business" and "political" I guessed that I wouldn't like this drama. Turns out this drama exceeded my expectations. It's fun, it's thought-provoking, it's easy to binge, and it's empowering. The title "Search: WWW" made me think this would be about a fake "Google" so I thought I would get easily bored but it's really as if the Ws represent 3 strong women. They are bosses but imperfect and messy and hilarious and frustrating and intelligent and it was refreshing to see women being the center of this drama in all ways and not because they were fighting over a man, or overcoming a melodramatic trauma. I thought in the first episode that this would be a corporate catfight drama but these characters are much deeper and less predictable than that, which was this drama's main appeal for me.The true lead in this story is Im Soo Jung as Bae Ta Mi (Tammy), who I loved first in "A Tale of Two Sisters" and later in "Chicago Typewriter" (2 favorites on mine). Tammy is clever and ambitious and often brutally honest and I think Soo Jung does so well being strong and vulnerable and bad@ss and a hot mess. I loved her character, even when her choices annoyed me, because to me her thinking was so relatable. Then there is Jeon Hye Jin as Song Ga Kyung, who I liked the least of the leads, but her character is complex and isn't really set up to be liked. Rounding out the leads is Lee Da Hee as Cha Hyun (Scarlett), who is definitely a favorite character for many people, myself included. Scarlett is super tough and easily violent but the ultimate empathetic caregiver and I loved all of her crazy moments. Usually, I start reviews for Romance themed dramas with the main couple but in this drama, the relationship between these ladies deserves the first mention. Not quite BFFs or Frienemies, I love that their relationships were nuanced which made them feel less superficial. Their chemistry with each other was so strong at some points that I wondered if the story would lead to a romance between at least 2 of the characters but this is more about real bonding, how relationships between people can change or evolve, and how we can be different with/to/for different people, which is again super relatable.
There is a major romance plot in this drama as well which brings us to Jang Ki Yong as
Park Morgan. He is so good at being charming and his flirt game is at 100! From the moment they met, I was hooked on their story. Yes, there is a big noticeable age gap between Morgan and Tammy, which becomes their main obstacle, but unlike people who felt annoyed by this conflict I thought it was refreshing to see a genuine issue with being together instead of a crazy materialistic parent or incurable disease or an inconvenient ex (at least not as the main issue). I really loved how he loved Tammy (he made me swoon with just how he would look at her), and I liked his character's story (which explained many of his feelings), and yes it was hard to watch so much conflict but I understood their overall dilemma way too well. I actually started this while watching "Born Again", without realizing he was in both. I like him much more in this drama (less over the top melodrama) and I look forward to his future roles.
Then we have Lee Jae Wook as Sul Ji Hwan. Like Scarlett, he is another standout role and I love how well the drama within a drama aspect was done. For being so young he really holds his own in this drama full of strong older women. I don't want to say too much about his character to avoid spoilers but I was shocked by how much I loved his character.
As for the rest of the cast, I appreciate it when there are too many wonderful characters to name, which makes a work ensemble-based drama even better. More than for the company I found myself rooting for the Barro team full of quirky characters and of course for one of my personal favorite characters in this entire drama Kwon Hae Hyo as "Brian" the boss that dreams are made of! On the flip side, my other personal favorite was Ye Soo Jung who was so deliciously ruthless that I was kinda rooting for her over the leads in some scenes. This drama doesn't have weak characters, although I do wish some had more screen time, which brings me to the story.
Even though I gave the story less than a 10 I have to say I think the writing and directing in this drama is so good. Even the product placement was masterclass level (still obvious but well played lol). My only issue is that I wish some minor characters had more screen time with less focus on things like board meetings or arguments on loop. A major question the drama presents is, "how far are you willing to go into a relationship that is likely to fail?", and I think that made the story more complex. Still, certain arguments became irritatingly repetitive, and I wish that could have been balanced out with more romantic chemistry-charged moments (like one scene in this that is one of the best drama kiss scenes ever), or more from Ji Seung Hyun's character who has the least screen time as a lead, but the pace is still good and kept me engaged the whole time. I wasn't even bored with the business or political aspect because so much of it was about the dynamic between different characters that I actually cared about and many of the dilemmas they faced brought up interesting points about how we use the web and how to determine what is "right". My favorite quote from the show: "3 things that don't exist... free things, the right answer, and secrets". Also visually, with montages, and sunsets, and lighting they really knew how to tell this story well.
Would I watch this again? For sure. I may be tempted to skip scenes, but I am also curious how knowing the whole story might change how I feel while watching. Just rewatching the intro sequence felt different once I knew all of the characters. I think many of the themes, like living in the now, may resonate differently depending on my mood too. The creators really took care in certain details, and there are quite a few scenes I could definitely watch again and again.
I also really liked this soundtrack a lot, even though I didn't necessarily love any song in particular. I give soundtracks high ratings if the music matches the show well, gets me in the mood to watch, and makes me feel nostalgic when the show is over. This soundtrack does all 3. Music is also a part of the plot in a few ways. I even stopped to really read lyrics a few times, although the "Search" song is basically catchy gibberish. The OST is so well incorporated that my favorite song on it is an instrumental "Heart Shape on Ankle" (cute title) which is clearly a bootleg SWV melody but it's used so well. Then there's one song that breaks into A' Cappella right at the perfect moment, which made the feels even deeper. Also, shout out to Brian's songs which I am disappointed are not on the soundtrack. Again, I know this is about strong women but Brian is the exception MVP.
Overall this drama had the exact mix of what I wanted (laughs, tears, butterflies) and kept me excited to binge until the end. Some traditional romance fans may be disappointed by this drama but all the great flirt scenes between the characters were enough for me. Even with some familiar but lovable drama tropes in play, this felt different and even innovative for just centering around strong women (even a minor foreign CEO part was played by a Black Woman). By the end, it was clear that this drama is a mood if you want a show how women are strong on their own (with or without a partner), and how strong isn't perfect or one obvious path. I honestly knew from the opening sequence I would love this drama and I'm glad my "what to watch" search lead me to this.
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The pace. It was kind of slow at times and they mixted the scenes a bit here and there.
The romance. It was slow at the begining. And they almost seemed like they didn't have chemistry, but that was solved quickly.
The business part. It was nice to see strong female leads, but the office story was confusing and didn't really appeal to me in the end.
Now, for what I liked:
The performances were really good from all the actresses and actors, but especially from the three ladies, who were incredible.
The second leading lady's romance. It was cute and adorable!!
The attitude of the drama.
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This is one of them.
So let's break down why I loved this drama:
1) Jang Ki Yong
Not going to lie, this was the motivation to start this drama-- I watched him in the gay web drama with Choi Woo Shik, and in Go Back Couple, wanted more of him. And boy did he deliver. Park Morgan is like ideal boyfriend 101. I'm a fan.
2) Girl power!!!
The main story is about 3 women fighting in business / the search engine market, but also against big corporations / big government. The major players in this fight are generally women, which is already a rare scene you'd see in dramas. Moreover, everyone has a unique personality and a convincing backstory. Immense character development -- you only know who's good and who's bad at the very end; and you'll learn to love even the bad -- because they added so much to the story-telling.
Also, I love how the romance isn't the defining factor for these 3 women -- they are successful badass independent career women, whose conversations will for sure pass the Bechdel test with flying colors, *who have romance lines on the side*. It's like the male characters *add* to the colors of the story and don't dominate the story.
3) THE. ACTING.
Especially Lee Jae Wook. CAN WE TALK ABOUT LEE JAE WOOK? I watched him in Memories of Alhambra (did not remember him until I saw the behind-the-scenes of Search:WWW mentioning his role there), and in When The Weather Is Fine (when I first registered this actor), and then in Extraordinary You.
You'll notice that the previous roles I saw him as were pretty 1-dimentional -- ok maybe it was more complex in Extraordinary You, but seeing his acting in Search:WWW was a huge upgrade from the other dramas I saw previously. I was blown away by his double role as the character in the drama-in-drama, and as the actor character (you'll see what I mean). Really trying not to spoil too much, but the complex emotions he conveys through his eyes are A+. Was he really just 21 when he acted in this? Such mature acting, thought he was in his late 20's or early 30's...
Also, similar situation with Lee Da Hee -- I usually see her as the chaebol second female lead who's jealous of the first lead and tries to sabotage or something (see I Hear Your Voice, Secret, Beauty Inside). Essentially, as someone else said, type-casted into a young pretty rich jealous cold role.
However, her role in Search:WWW added another dimension of her. You'll see soon after ep 1 that there's so much more to her character than a staff member of the female lead's competitor company. She gets an amazing back story and a beautiful character development line. You'll start rooting for Da Hee soon enough. OK I won't spoil any more than this -- but IT WAS GOOD.
4) Finally, most importantly, the script.
I judge dramas mainly by their script, and this one does not disappoint. Things that get mentioned early on get brought back as important plot points. The comedic relief is also strong -- if there's a huge feels scene, be prepared for a sudden joke someone makes that will leave you cracking up on the floor.
Without spoiling the ending -- note that it's worth sticking it out til the end, because the ending is written beautifully and does tie everything up nicely (and elegantly refers the viewers back to point #2 -- the girl power theme)
One reason why it's not 10/10 is because the main couple did sort of annoy me at one point, unnecessarily. I guess the writer needed it as a plot driver or something. But other than that, perfect script.
This is a drama that has a great theme (female empowerment + societal ethics + politics), great romance lines (second couple best couple; but let's be real the other two pairs are also worth rooting for), and hilarious comedic relief when you need it (or even when you think you don't need it).
I usually don't rewatch things because I don't like knowing what happens next, but for this drama I will happily rewatch compilations of certain scenes -- and of the second couple. OMG I love them so much.
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