The Master's Sun

I always enjoy this concept of the living helping ghosts move on as it gives tv shows mystery and thrill wrapped in drama. I really loved Hotel Del Luna so I had high hopes for this. Sadly I am disappointed. I'm annoyed at all the high ratings, which seem to not really breakdown what makes this series good. These ratings gave me false expectations to this series,

1) The make up and hair is so poorly done that it's comical, Why does all the ghosts look like they had a whip cream smooshed on their faces? Hard to remain spooked when people are just covered in white powder. Also, hair seems to be perfect all the time, even when in dialogue one character would say otherwise.

2) special effects was laughable, this kept pulling me out of the story and just chuckling at the poorly stitched composition. I may be a bit harsh, but Hotel Del Luna and Kingdom does this much better to create the scary atmosphere.

3) the script is not very cohesively written as it never established why the main female character is so loveable. As well, the relationship seems to happen very suddenly without much time spent developing it. The main female made me feel very awkward a lot of the time with her almost childish-shy-flirting smiles-this combo is not very pleasant.

4) Many over used cliched plot points just to try and wrap up stories.

Overall, I only really enjoyed the subplots of ghost stories, but there wasn't much surprises nor twists. Mediocre 6/10.

This is a ridiculous screwball romantic comedy / horror / thriller that is lots of fun to watch. The hero is self-important pompous son of a Pancho who never lets anyone get close to him or touch him. He has strong disbelief in anything supernatural. Our heroine is a down on her luck girl who has the misfortune of being a veritable ghost magnet who discovers that our hero is just what the doctor ordered for her condition and nothing he can do will shake her off. The characters are all adorable, the special effects are obviously done on a budget so I recommend you hold your breath for Hollywood effects and just sit back and enjoy the ride. Even the characters at the beginning of the series that you don't like much, you find things to love about nearly all of them as the story progresses. This is absolutely one of my top 10 favorite k-drama TV series (yes, with subtitles). I highly recommend it for anyone who likes screwball comedy and doesn't mind subtitles.

A successful but ruthless businessman meets a girl who can see ghosts but they disappear in his presence. She latches onto him and as she gets peace in his company but over time will his indifferent feelings towards her change ? The series could have benefitted from being a little shorter but stars Hyo-Jin Kong who I love in any role and therefore I can forgive the length. Excellent acting from all the cast with some funny and endearing moments means this series is well worth a watch.

I've had a hard time getting into Korean TV dramas, mostly due to the sappy romanticism and general melodrama. Master's Sun was the first member of the genre that I've actually liked, as it brings both a fun supernatural angle and a lot of humour to the proceedings.

Central to the series's appeal is Hyo-Jin Kong as the heroine, Tae Gong Sil. Not only is Gong-Sil endearing in her weirdness, but she actually has a pretty impressive character arc over the course of the series, going from an outcast who can barely handle everyday life to a confident woman that can stand on her own. While her relationship to a rich CEO is a part of this growth, the series also acknowledges her need for independence, which is nice considering that the romance genre (on both sides of the Pacific) generally encourages a very unhealthy codependence. The other characters are all endearing in their own way, especially the ghosts, who are both visually striking and straddle the difficult line between scary and funny.

Master's Sun is still very much of its genre, containing within it evil twins, amnesia, tragic misunderstandings, questionable gender politics, kisses shot from five different angles, and the same K-Pop songs in every episode. At 64 minutes a pop, the episodes drag on too long for what is ultimately a fairly lightweight narrative. But even the soapier elements are executed better than one would have any right to expect. Even with my limited knowledge of K-Dramas, I can say that this isn't the best one out there, but judging from my experience it just might be a good gateway drug.

As a fan of Kong Hyo Jin, but a big scary cat who hates horror, I was fifty fifty whether to watch it or not. But, turned out that the horror stuff weren't difficult to handle. They were scary, sure, and well made and presented, with nice SGI, but they were brief as well and the story tended to leave them behind and move on with the main story. So, the plot was good, though I found it a bit slow. The love triangle was nice as well, but ended quickly and the drama focused on the main couple, who were really cute together. The small ghost cases, moreover, were interesting and saved the otherwise weak plot. The performances were good as well. Finally, the side stories were a bit annoying, and the final twist was predictable. So, 6.5 out of 10.