Other Media Review

Guest Squee: Healer, a Korean TV Drama

Tara contacted me because she had Many Wonderful Things to say about Healer, a Korean drama she fell in absolute squee-love with. Read on to learn more!


Healer-movie poster - close up of three main leads with title in blue text in Korean belowHi, this is TaraR, and I’m a pretty regular lurker at the website. I also absolutely love the podcast. I don’t usually do this, but having finished watching my very first Korean drama series, I just had to rave about it to a romance fan, because I know no one else will get it. So apologies in advance for the squee-age that follows.

So, long story short, I got bullied into watching this show called “Healer” by a friend who is knee deep in the Hallyu wave and mad about Korean shows. I don’t know what I was expecting, really, but it certainly wasn’t this. It was fast, and suspenseful, with cliffhanger episode endings, while being unusually character-driven for a plot-heavy series.

The story centers around three very different characters: a “night-courier” (I read this to mean mercenary who’ll do any job you need doing for an obscene amount of money) who’s real name is Seo Jung Hoo but goes by the code name Healer; an internet entertainment/tabloid reporter Chae Young Shin; and the older famous star reporter Kim Moon Hoo.

Beginning with the introduction of these characters and their lives, the audience is immediately made aware of some past connection between them through a photograph of 5 friends that reappears from time to. As the series progresses, these three characters find themselves linked together (and to the people in the photograph) in unexpected and shocking (read: exciting) ways, while trying to uncover a mystery from 20 years ago which resurfaces and exposes their connections to one another. I canNOT say any more than this ’cause I don’t wanna spoil it, (and seriously, everything is a spoiler after the first episode) but structure-wise the narrative was pretty perfect. Although I felt that the ending was a bit rushed and could have done with even ten more minutes of epilogue, there weren’t any loose ends or unresolved conflicts. The writer of the show, Song Ji-Nah, is apparently very well known in Korean television for her highly rated award winning dramas and series. As one reviewer noted and I agree, this series in particular was a writer’s drama rather than a director’s drama.

What can I say… it hit ALL my buttons:

  • hero with secret identity
  • heroine pining for the hero’s secret identity while his clumsy alter ego is standing right next to her
  • characters with painful pasts and PTSD
  • villain that is humanized just enough so he doesn’t look like a caricature
  • strategically timed flashbacks that give insight into motivations and events, answering some questions while raising new ones
  • and an intricate plot that never once stalled or fell flat

Yes, the romance was a prominent part of the plot and really not separable from it, but I am most impressed by how the mystery and suspense aspect of the story unfolded alongside it.

Here’s what I appreciated: the story never went for the easy instances of prolonged pointless made-up angst. Not only did it have enough real angst and conflict generated by events beyond the control of the present day characters, but incidents and scenes moved along at a fast clip, meaning that moments of anxiety, guilt, anger or depression were given only enough time and space to make a proper impression before the plot hurried along to what’s next. Time wasn’t wasted, for example, on misunderstandings that might be cleared up if people only talked. Yes, a lot of people are hiding a lot of things, and that’s at the center of the mystery plot, but those secrets come out one after another at a good pace and it was great watching the fallout from each rather than spending most of the time in “Why don’t you figure it out already?!” zone.

The Healer movie poster - two dudes and a woman across the top, and then a close up of the lead character with really, really perfect hair on the bottom

The romance was just too good for words, simply because even the smallest details about the characters are slowly explained in the course of the story. At the beginning, the hero’s dream is to amass enough money to buy a private island in the South Seas where he can retire in peace, far from human civilization. We ultimately learn how he arrived to this point in his life where he wishes for such total isolation and disconnection. I loved how his encounter with the heroine and her “normal” world of “normal” people brings him out of this self-imposed isolation and pushes him to connect.

Towards the beginning of the story we see Healer and his alter ego as separate compartmentalized personas: the bumbling reporter-in-disguise Park Bong Soo and the rebellious devil-may-care Healer. But with each episode, the personas begin to blend together until Park Bong Soo begins to act decidedly Healer-like or Healer has moments of awkward clumsiness. By the end of the series, the audience is made to feel that the different aspects of the character have been reconciled into one Seo Jung Hoo. I think it’s safe to say that the hero was the best part of the series for me. Actor Ji Chang Wook is alternately adorable as Park Bong Soo and a total badass as the Healer. I want to make a poster of his smirk and hang it on my wall.

The heroine I liked a little less. She had a few TSTL moment, I’ll be honest, and I didn’t like her for her so much as for how HE saw her–as someone who is upbeat and optimistic despite the trauma and pain that life has thrown her way in the past. Her initial representation as a quirky carefree tabloid reporter is very quickly stripped away to reveal the childhood trauma it serves to hide. It felt a bit ham-handed at the beginning, and quite out of the blue, but it all falls into place as a part of the larger story and what happened 20 years ago. If there was ever any moment where something did not make sense or questions remained unanswered, it was not so for long. Even the reason behind the heroine’s penchant for singing at random moments is given some context. There’s no sex scenes or even any nudity, really, but the longing and attraction just play out so well across the scenes that I never missed them. In fact, the one scene where the hero and heroine are in bed was so unbearably sweet I had to pause and giggle to myself for a bit.

Healer about to touch the hair of the woman in front of him in bed, while she's tending to a cut on her arm.

The character of Kim Moon Ho, the famous and older reporter, was brilliant. Caught between wanting to uncover the truth about a 20 year-old incident and his loyalty to the brother who raised him, his character’s journey is truly complelling in the sense that he finds out the difference between just thinking you have principles and having those principles tested. His character is the one faced with the bigger moral dillemmas and the greater struggle. I liked that he doesn’t always come off perfect and does in fact make mistakes along the way. An argument can be made that he is infact the real hero of the show. Actor Yoo Ji-Tae just pulls it off so well.

But my favorite character has GOT to be that of wild-haired foul-mouthed Jo Min Ja, the hacker extraordinaire who is Healer’s boss.

 photo healer1-00074.jpg

Referred to as ajumma (the polite honorific for a middle-aged woman, roughly translates to madam) through most of the series, Healer has never met or even seen her, although the audience does from the get go. Her signature cackle, crotchety asides, acerbic observations and comments, all delivered directly into Healer’s earpiece, added an interesting levity to even tense scenes.

And yes. All of that in 20 episodes. So I guess to American viewers it would be a miniseries? But that’s just semantics. To me it was a 20 hour movie that I just couldn’t stop watching. It was a refreshing break from 24-episode-seasons of shows that never wanna end. I watched the whole thing on YouTube (which has not so good resolution but pretty decent subtitles) but I am told that it should be available on DVD in Asian stores.

Thanks for letting me squee.

Sarah: Ok, so do you want to watch this? BECAUSE I DO. HOW DO WE FIND THIS?! I asked Tara, and said, “I’m guessing the YouTube version is not exactly legal, right?”

Tara: Yeah, legality is a major problem with Asian programming. We get Korean channels as a part of the package where I live so I try not to feel too bad about hunting for good subtitled episodes online. Only a few really popular shows ever get released on DVD here after being aired.

Plus, good English subtitled videos are mostly found on fansites (i.e. illegally) where fans take on the translating and transcribing themselves. I have heard some of the highest rated ones tend to appear on Netflix for a limited period of time so you can check there. It will be under “subgenres” category I’m told (Netflix is not available in my country). I can also see pre-order links on certain Asian websites which might be an option–here’s one that lists June 2015 as a release date for a director’s cut version in blu-ray.

For people who just want to try a preview, the YouTube links might be an option. But I advise against it… the first 30 minutes hooked me but goooood.

Sarah: Ok, so I am really curious about this.

Are you a fan of Korean television shows? Any legal means that you’re aware of to find and watch the shows you’re curious about?

I found stills on this wiki and some information on the Wikipedia page.

Amanda found it on DramaFever, which is most definitely legit!  I’m going to keep looking for potential DVDs or streaming versions available in the US or Canada, but if you have suggestions, please let me know!

But most of all: thank you, Tara! (No, really, I totally have 20 hours to get sucked into a television miniseries) (not) (who cares) (not me!)

Tara: Did I mention that ajumma spends half her time knitting? I completely forgot to say that. =D

Add Your Comment →

  1. Isabella says:

    Oh my god!!! Kdramas on SBTB!!! I hope I will see kdramas featured more and more on SBTB because it has EVERYTHING romance novel lovers love—- historical romance lovers, romantic suspense, EVERYTHING. Meddling in laws, men who pretend to be cold and grouchy but are really huge softies, forced or fake marriages that lead to real love, so many tropes that kdramas deal with, romance book lovers will ABSOLUTELY LOVE.

  2. Kat says:

    Drama Fever is the best site for Asian shows and movies. There’s also Viki but the ads are totally annoying, So I’d go to Drama Fever.

  3. Kat says:

    Also found “Healer” on Hulu, which has a lot of the dramas from Drama Fever, so if you have an account on Hulu, you’re set. 🙂 Netflix has Kdramas, too.

  4. Ann says:

    I love Asian dramas and I loved “Healer”!

    The love story was really well done here.

    But I have to say that there are a few other dramas with even better romance.

  5. Ellie says:

    I was so excited to see a Kdrama on SBTB! Many of the romantic ones really are like watching a romance novel! I’ve been a subscriber to Drama Fever for a while and it’s a great place to watch a lot of the top dramas.

    A few others that have wonderful romances:

    Coffee Prince (available on Netflix) – Gender bender where the female lead (pretending to be a guy) works at a coffee shop full of “princes” (attractive men). Adorable romance and lots of cute guys to look at. 🙂

    Pinocchio – A reporter who can’t lie without hiccuping! Adopted siblings fall in love while untangling the truth of a tragic fire.

    I Hear Your Voice – (Slightly) Older woman, younger man romance. Our male and female lead were brought together by a tragic murder. 10 years later and she’s an public defense attorney and he’s a high schooler who can read people’s thoughts when he sees their eyes. I think the age difference was handled well and the romance was very believable.

    There are so many wonderful romantic dramas! Let me know if you need more suggestions!!!

  6. DonnaMarie says:

    So glad I’m not the only one!! Before I “upgraded” my basically antenna tv cable package had one great channel full of international programming. I was addicted to Thursday nights for the Korean dramas. I wish I could remember the names. One was a restaurant family dynasty: traditional older brother, rebel younger brother. Sort of a prodigal son thing. LOVED IT! Sunday was the Italian police procedurals, oh, Detective Montalbano, how I miss you.

    Telling me that I can find these online is not a good idea. I already let the internet suck way too much of my time.

  7. Anna says:

    I’ve only watched the first few episodes of Healer so far, but I really liked it. Other dramas I enjoyed are:

    You’re Beautiful – a novice nun has to disguise herself as a boy and join a all male pop band. The Hong Sisters who wrote this drama are great, and any show they produce is worth watching.

    Coffee Prince and I Hear Your Voice as mentioned already!

    IRIS – Spies! Drama! Tragic Love!

    Master’s Sun – Woman who can see ghosts + arrogant rich man with a tragic past.

    My Lovely Sam Soon – Often referred to as a Korean Bridget Jones’ Diary.

    Viki, Dramafever, Netflix, and Hulu are all legit ways to stream and watch these shows.

  8. Isabella says:

    Adding in recs since people are doing it:

    You Who Came From the Stars/My Love from Another Star– Hilarious romantic comedy about a handsome and smart but emotionally distant ALIEN and a seemingly self-absorbed by vulnerable superstar actress falling in love, but he only has 100 days left on Earth. This was a MONSTER hit in Asia, it was widely credited to have boost the sales of ramen, fried chicken and a beer brand in China alone

    Coffee Prince has been mentioned, it’s the number one introductory drama for all kdrama newbies.

    Goong/The Palace – ordinary 19 year old girl in modern day Korea (or 18 in American years) has a grandfather who made the pact with the (fictional) former King of Korea to betroth her to his grandson. The current King of Korea is sick so the Crown Prince’s marriage is rushed and the girl agrees to marry the emotionally distant Crown Prince to save her family from debt. Obviously they fall in love but there are plotting relatives determine to break up the couple and steal the throne.

    That Winter, The Wind Blows – a man pretends to be the long-lost brother of a blind super rich heiress recovering from cancer. This sounds sketchy as hell but this was one of the most moving and stunningly shot as well as wonderfully acted tv shows i’ve seen.

    Fated to Love You- Hilarious AND Heartbreaking romantic comedy about an ordinary and earnest girl who finds herself accidentally knocked up by a super rich hotelier with a larger than life personality. What I liked about this one is that the hero (the hotelier) was HILARIOUS and wasn’t emotionally distant, and he constantly tried to motivate the heroine into believing she was amazing.

    My Girlfriend is a Gumiho- Hilarious and adorable, although i cried buckets and crawled into fetal position in the finale. The hero is a bumbling aspiring actor who gets into an accident. Our heroine saves him, and she so happens to be a gumiho (a nine tailed fox spirit). She gives him a fox bead (like part of her spirit) for him to survive and now she has to hang around him to make sure he’s safe. She has the innocence of a child and the appetite of 5 young boys.

  9. Mara says:

    Crunchyroll.com might also have some and it is I believe legal.

  10. Nikki says:

    I will also mention the 1st Shop of Coffee Prince (weep that we can never have a sequel). Sam Soon was my entry to KDrama. And then I was suckered in by the historical ones, all 100 episodes for some of them. While Crunchyroll doesn’t have all the most updated ones, they do have a lot of series, and some Jdrama as well.

  11. Alina says:

    Coffee Prince has already been mentioned, but can stand being mentioned again. Another older KDrama I love is Full House; Rain is just too cute for words. A more recent one that had a lot of buzz and that I liked a lot is Heirs (a spiritual successor to Boys Before Flowers). This last one is definitely available on DramaFever.

    There’s High School – Love On, a cute KDrama about an angel (in the Asian guiding-spirits-to-the-beyond sense, not the Christian sense) who accidentally becomes human. The drama is good, but for whatever reason they cast a 13-year-old actress as the heroine who passes herself of as a high-schooler (I guess they wanted angelic innocence?) and a 23-year-old as the hero (playing an 18-year-old). The end result was that even though the relationship was sweet, love scenes between them came off as very creepy. They must have realized this, as they kept all romantic interactions platonic save for one fairly chaste kiss.

    Crunchyroll is another legal way to watch Asian dramas, but its selection of those is nowhere near as big as its selection of anime.

    Before sites like DramaFever started appearing, I watched most Asian dramas as fan-subs and still do a lot – the legality is dubious, but fansubs are not-for-profit, and if no licensed version exists, what’s the harm? I think SBTB actually had this conversation once about manga, because it reviewed the manga Midnight Secretary – a fan scanlation since the manga was not licensed in the US at the time.

  12. Meredith says:

    It’s available on Hulu Plus!!! (In the US. Legally.) Hulu Plus has a whole section for Korean dramas. I’m definitely going to check this out — any other recommendations?

  13. Meredith says:

    (Sorry! I regain the article this morning, then finished this afternoon and got ***all excited***!)

  14. Caro says:

    OMG the Great Doctor – ask not for whom the squee canon sounds, it sounds for thee. It’s got time travel, romance, awesome fight scenes, and super powers. Since I’ve already watched it, all I want in this world is another kdrama exactly like it but shiny new. It’s called “Faith” on Hulu I think

  15. G.A. says:

    Yes, many Korean dramas will appeal to romance fans. My absolute favorites are My Name is Kim Sam Soon and My Girl. Dramabeans.com has lots of great recaps of shows(anything written by Javabeans or Girlfriday will be great, I’m not familiar with the rest of the recappers). I’m a weirdo and often just read their recaps instead of watching the whole KDrama. I used to do the same thing with American shows and Television Without Pity (still miss that site, at least the SBTB Outlander recaps help ease the pain a bit).

  16. Nuha says:

    OH MAN OH MAN, Healer was so, so good. It moved at such a wonderful pace, the characters talked to each other, and it was so full of women–reporters, hackers, apprentice corporate spies–and NONE OF THEM DIED. The best part about it, though, was that it was a story about people who chose, over and over again, to love and trust each other. And I loved Chae Young Shin (the heroine) to death and beyond! She’s such a well-drawn character in that she has moments of fear and doubt, but she overcomes them and saves the day, over and over again. SO GREAT.

    But if we’re talking recs, here you go~

    The Princess’s Man was an excellent historical romance. It’s kind of a Romeo and Juliet and Richard III hybrid, what with star-crossed lovers and life-or-death political plots in motion. What I loved most, though, is that this drama gives the heroine so much agency; her actions and beliefs and philosophical stances matter so much and she stands up for them time and time again. Also, the hero has excellent hair. So swishy!

    Flower Boy Next Door is also a great drama. It’s a lot quieter and scope is smaller: it deals with the residents of an apartment building and their lives. The best thing about it is that the heroine has crippling social anxiety and the narrative validates her ways of dealing with it; her problems are not romanticized, but respected. She is the emotionally distant one, while her hero is anything but.

    Answer Me 1997 is another gem. This one is a hilariously witty friends-to-lovers story, but there’s so much more–families dealing with loss, growing pains, finding yourself, and so much more. So! Good!

    <Queen In Hyun's Man is a time-travel romance. The hero has a magical object that allows him to jump forward in time, where he meets the heroine, falls in love (with both her and modern conveniences) and buckles a lot of swashes. The heroine is sassy and take-charge; the hero is insanely smart (the way he adapts MUST BE SEEN TO BE BELIEVED) and that makes him insanely hot, obv.

    Marriage Not Dating is such a great rom com where the hero and heroine pretend to date each other–he wants his parents off his back (and doesn’t want his mom to sell his house, which she threatens to do if he doesn’t get a move-on) and she agrees initially because she wants to show an ex-boyfriend that she’s moved on, thanks, and later wants to keep her parents happy as well. The charade gets a little too real, obviously, and that’s fun, but the real heart-tugging happened when the heroine and the hero’s mom bonded and defended each other against the world.

    The last one I want to recommend is Ojakgyo Brothers. This one’s about a family that owns a farm (or at least, they think they do), and the four sons’ love stories, so you get four romcoms in one! The oldest brother is getting on in years and seems to be making head-way with his girlfriend, until on old girlfriend sends a surprise his way; the second oldest has a drunken one-night-stand with a colleague, knocks her up, and they get married; the third one is a cop who falls in love with…oh, just watch it, it’s wonderful, not just because of the romance, but because these goofballs are such family, bickering and wrestling one moment, and bonding over drinks the next.

  17. Kri says:

    K drama reviews on SBTB?! Plus, drama-loving smart bitches (myself included) emerging from the woodwork? Could not have woken up to a better surprise on the Internet!

  18. Senetra says:

    Soompi TV is another place to watch free with commercials or pay a monthly fee for no commercials.

    I absolutely loved Marriage Not Dating.

    Also recommended is Cunning Single Lady aka Sly and Single Again. Pretty poor girl falls in love with geeky guy with big dreams. They marry and she works multiple jobs to support him while he works towards success in the tech field until she becomes ill (and hides it from him). They eventually divorce and geeky guy becomes rich and HOT. she wants revenge because it was her support that allowed him to get his foot in the door and she goes to work in his company. Hijinks ensue as they fall in love again.

  19. Senetra says:

    I just want to warn the Bitchery about 2nd Lead Syndrome! There will be dramas with Love Triangles and you will always want the Female Lead to fall in love with the handsome guy who does all the right things and is so supportive. She won’t, because he will be the Second Male Lead and is destined to be friendzoned in favor of the guy who makes the Female Lead cry, scream in frustration, and lose a job or two. He will also be SML’s best friend, rival at work, boss, childhood nemesis or even brother, and he will always get the girl.

  20. DonnaMarie says:

    Just back from my niece’s HS graduation party where I met my sister-in-law’s sister-in-law for the first time. She is Korean by birth, so of course we started talking about this post and squeeing about Korean dramas. While she watches them on Korean internet (she hates the subtitles), she does recommend dramafever.com and raved over Sensory Couple and You Who Came From the Stars/My Love from Another Star.

  21. TaraR says:

    I really liked The Great Doctor/Faith too! General Choi Young was a great hero. My friend has been really into Empress Ki, but I’m gonna wait to commit myself to a 51-episode historical. I also liked Prime Minister and I, which was a funny 17-episode romcom with only occasional plotholey moments.

    I think perhaps IRIS or The Slingshot/Story of a Man will be next on my list.

  22. Toni says:

    Welcome to the hallyu world. Kdrams have been filling the hole left from Dawson’s creek. i watch all my kdrams on dramafever. i watch it so much, i pay the subscription fee so no commercials!!!

    absolute favorite: You came from another star

    absolute guilty pleasure: boys over flowers (ALLLLLLLLLMOST PARADISE!!)

    catered to my high school musical love: drean high

  23. Caro says:

    If you’re not sure where to start with the crack that is kdrama (for those so inclined), I recommend KDrama Fighting! blog.

    @Toni Holy begeezus who can forget that theme song? It’ll be in my head all day, giving me flashbacks. ALLLLMOST PAAAARADISE

  24. lijakaca says:

    I still haven’t finished a Kdrama series – my one requirement is a happy ending, and though I think they’re pretty common now, I’m never quite sure, and I really don’t want to spend 12 hours leading up to a tragedy. I wish I could filter kdrama series by happy ending and choose from the results!

  25. Griffin says:

    I am SO excited there’s a Kdrama thread on here! I just love watching them – it’s so easy to get totally sucked in. Let me add one more to the pile here because this checks all my TV and romance boxes:

    King2Hearts: This one has my favorite female lead going – Kim Hang-Ah – everything I look for in a heroine, seriously! In this drama North and South Korea still got separated but South Korea has a monarchy, so the King decides as a gesture of reconciliation between North and South that he’ll send his younger (total playboy) brother to compete as part of a joint North/South team in international military games. The head of the North team is the daughter of a top level general (who is SUCH an awesome Dad – you’ll LOVE DadGeneral so much, I promise!) and kicks some serious butt.

    So, of course they immediately butt heads but eventually come to respect each other, though our Prince Lee Jae-Ha totally pretends like it’s nothing. So, post training, when KingBro is thinking of finding a North Korean wife for his brother to marry and proposes a list of ladies, Jae-Ha is like, “NO, of course Kim Hang-Ah is not on the list, ICK, NO-NO-NO- Wait? Is she on the list? I mean, I suppose she could be on the list.”

    So things end up tangled as all get out, but our two crazy kids do end up thrown together – which is good because things go totally tails up in a hurry.

    I don’t want to spoil too much, but you’ll totally fall for everyone on Team Hang-Ah / Jae-Ha – you’ve got awesome parents on both sides (Jae-Ha’s Mom is everything – and the actress playing her utterly nails it), there is a team of adorkable soldiers from both North and South including the son of the King’s Head of staff who is so Captain America by-the-book that you fall utterly in love with him (and so does Jae-Ha’s sister Jae-Shin who gets an amazing arc about overcoming serious disability and PTSD, but it’s done really really well).

    There’s also (of course) an utterly Whack-A-Doodle villain who is totally going for a sociopath/ Heath Ledger’s Joker vibe (but less legit, because he’s also an amateur magician and is super whiney). You will be ok with him because all the other characters are amazing.

    Jae-Ha gets a great storyline where he really grows into his responsibilities and goes from someone who’s utterly footloose and carefree, to someone who is rightfully deserving of ending up with Hang-Ah (and I do not take that lightly because she sets the bar incredibly high). This is considered a breakout role for the actor, Lee Seung-gi, and he really brings such an incredible range of emotions to this role.

    But most of all, watch this for Kim Hang-Ah who is totally fan-freakin’-tastic – She’s not only a total badass – this is entirely a princess rescues prince story – but she also has a sensitive side where she wants to overcome how intimidating people find her so she can have a family. She’s not all hard edges, but instead has this part of her that is really shy and sweet and eager-to-please, but she can go back to full on DefCom mode if people she loves are threatened. I dare you to watch this show and not cheer for her all the way.

    Seriously, this show is SO much awesome. Though fair warning, you are going to need some tissues for parts of it (but it’s worth it, I promise) and also a block of time because you will probably binge-watch 🙂

  26. Griffin says:

    Sorry to post again so soon – this one will be much shorter, I promise! I thought that you all might be interested in this site:

    http://www.dramabeans.com/

    It’s only for Korean Dramas, but it’s great for recommendations, notices about upcoming shows, news about actors, and most importantly, recaps of shows. What I love about the recaps is that they get into the background stuff that a Western audience might miss (like when characters use informal speech as an insult, the implication of certain customs or foods). It fills in the blanks that we might miss, which I really appreciate!

  27. Claire says:

    Ahhh kdramas on SBTB!! So exciting!

    I don’t think it’s been mentioned yet, so I’m putting Protect The Boss out there too. Also, if you use adblocker, it successfully blocks the ads on Viki. And it can stream through Chromecast now!

    One of the great joys of using Viki is that in addition to the crowd-sourced subtitles, you can turn on (and participate in) commentary from other viewers. So it’s essentially being livetweeted at the top of the screen at the same time you’re watching it. Even if most of it is silly rather than incisive commentary, communal squeeing with other fans is totally delightful. I firmly beleive that kdramas are the most fun with a friend or several to anticipate what might happen next, binge-watch, talk about hairstyles, and sing along!

  28. Claire says:

    And, since you are all such founts of information, I’m going to put an ask out there too — what’s a terrific contemporary (non-historical) drama that *doesn’t* suffer from Jerky Male Lead and Mean Female 2nd Lead syndrome? I want the nice, non-assholic second male lead to get the girl, and while I usually feel sufficiently mushy and satisfied by the end, I’d really like to not be frustrated at the heroine falling for a guy who’s pretty much a dick.

  29. Senetra says:

    Claire, Second Male Lead Syndrome is so weird! In Heirs, the Male Lead’s personality was the one that’s usually seen in the SML and the SML was given the personality of the Male Lead and everyone preferred the SML over the first. He did have better chemistry with the lead actress too.

    Anyway, to answer your question: (spoilers ahoy!)

    http://www.dramafever.com/news/8-k-dramas-where-the-second-lead-got-the-girl/

  30. Ann says:

    Thank you for recommending this! I read the first few paragraphs and decided to just find this series and watch it right away. And…I just finished watching all 20 eps in several days…Wow this series is so addictive, funny, exciting, and thrilling! And yes, cute and romantic even. It’s got everything.

    Great acting, dialogue, plot twists, etc…and a very memorable soundtrack too.

  31. kth says:

    Thank you for the recommendation! I just spent my weekend watching all 20 episodes. It was awesome – love the romance and action combo! My daughter (15) has it on her to-watch list once finals are done.

  32. LadyHealer12 says:

    Hi all! Thank you for your positive responses to Healer! On that line of thought:

    Attention: All ‘Healer’ Fans

    Remember how we all looked forward to two nights a week to watch our favorite mysterious night courier? If you had a great time watching Healer, this is your chance to let your voice be heard!

    Join us in the fun and vote for your favorite things about the show over at the Healer KDrama Awards! Simply click the following link to cast your vote:

    https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1DRKl7PBJqamTAJvwskoHTDr-tMoJ9oHrdjaHhxK4wPA/viewform?usp=send_form

    This online poll was created by some Healer fans in Dramabeans, who are united by our immense love for this show. We do hope you’ll enjoy all the categories we’ve come up with and can find your favorites among them.

    Voting will end at 23:59 hours (GMT) on July 4th, 2015. Official results will be released on July 5th, 2015 (Ji Chang Wook’s birthday).

    You are all cordially invited to Healer Ji Chang Wook’s online birthday party on July 5th 2015 at Dramabeans (see link below). We will relive the phenomenon that is Healer, and celebrate Ji Chang Wook’s 29th birthday bash. See you there!

    To find out the latest vote tally, and if you have any questions or need clarifications with the awards OR the show itself, please head over to Dramabeans (http://www.dramabeans.com/healer-episode-20-final), and we’ll be happy to help you.

    Thank you!

    ~ “There will never be another one.”

  33. […] Links Outside Seoul Subber Interviews Smart Bitches Healer Review Smart Bitches Kdrama Recs Operation: Kdrama Chat TV […]

  34. DBChen says:

    Hooray! Healer! Strong female characters who are strong without physically beating anyone up! Strong for fighting through fear to do the right thing!

    Hooray for K-dramas!

  35. DBChen says:

    Hooray for Hacker Ahjumma! In one of my favorite scenes, she comes out of her computer cave looking and acting awesome, with a scarf with colorful skulls all over it.

    In another scene, she toasts a fallen colleague with a shot of soju (like Korean vodka) with her knitting all around.

  36. DBChen says:

    I totally second Flower Boy Next Door. It’s so different. For a while, I was like “wait, this guy is the male lead, not the comic relief guy? Oh, and he’s so cuuuuuuute!” Secondly, it’s the boys who get the makeover, not the female lead. And yes, everyone loves a sharp dressed man.

  37. […] Links Outside Seoul Subber Interviews Smart Bitches Healer Review Smart Bitches Kdrama Recs Operation: Kdrama Chat TV […]

  38. Ellen Girouard says:

    Just started streaming this on DramaFever online – Free w/ lots of commercials, but for $4.99/mth – totally ad-free!
    Loving it!

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