The Greatest Love

Well , at first sight the storyline seemed to be interesting. At the beggining the main leads had a nice love-to-hate relationship and it got my interest, but , God , this korean drama, totally lacks of plot.

The main lead man was always arrogant and behaved awful in front of the main lead woman which supposed he was in love with.

The main lead woman takes part in a TV show in which she must date a handsome ,single doctor , who also is in love with her. And then the main man starts acted like a spoiled child. That's the summary of the whole plot.. Nothing less nothing more. It's obvious weak so the scenariographs decide to fill the episodes with supporting characters and silly moments. In the end I catched myself skip almost whole episodes due to boredom. I didn't like it.

Greatest Love (also known as Discovery of Affection and Best Love) is another "which guy loves which girl" Korean melodrama. The story revolves around two main leads trying to discover if they love each other, along with 2 other characters which are battling for the leads affections.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

The two leads are played by Gong Hyo Jin and Cha Seung Won. The former plays a washed up past girl band member just trying to stay relevant and milk her few waning seconds of fame. The latter plays the biggest star in Korea at the top of his fame.

Hyo-Jin is really good in her role as Ae Jung. Ae Jung has long been forgotten by most everyone following the Korean entertainment industry, and, those few people that do remember her can't stand her. Image and perception play a big part of many of the character arcs and story lines in this show, and Ae Jung's public image is that of a plain awful troublemaker. In reality though, she's just an earnest and charming sweetheart with virtually zero faults, who's just trying to get by in life.

Seung Won plays the role of Go Jin. There's no two ways about it; Seung Won has a commanding screen presence; he's tall and ripped, with a deep voice and rugged features. He can be considered good looking I suppose, but he's also one downright menacing looking dude. As such, I wonder if he just takes these types of roles in order to solely avoid getting forever typecast as the "ass kicker/villain/rogue cop/etc" that he appears to have been genetically engineered to play. He's quite impressive here as the narcissistic and tyrannical superstar on the outside, with a soft spot on the inside.

The two other characters are played the lovely Yoo In Na and the terribly handsome Yoon Kye Sang. In Na portrays Ae Jung's former band mate who's become hugely popular in the 10 years since the group disbanded. She's also the host of a dating show that matches eligible Korean bachelors to various female stars. Kye Sang plays a rich young doctor that's a little slow on the up take with the ladies, and is completely uninterested in the ultra image conscious Korean entertainment industry.

The story has Ae Jung and Go Jin inadvertently bumping into each other time and again. Feeling a little sorry for her, he uses his star power to help her career out some by throwing her a bone; this eventually results in Ae Jung being one of the suitors on the dating show that In Na's character hosts. The doctor is the bachelor contestant on the dating show.

Meanwhile, In Na's character and Go Jin are a popular couple in the entertainment world (but are not actually a couple in real life). Go Jin slowly takes more and more of a liking to Ae Jung as time passes. In Na's character has been absorbed in the entertainment industry life for so long, that she's taken aback and soon smitten with the doctor she has to work with on the dating show that has no idea who she is and treats he like an everyday person. The doctor gets more and more inclined to select Ae Jung as his match on the dating show, because her personality and approach to life is most suited to his own. You can tell where all this is headed from there; all you have to do is just follow along to see who will be and won't be with whom, and for how long, and why.

There are a number of sides stories sprinkled in, one of the cuter (although not major) ones, being the bond between Go Jin and Ae Jung's cute seven year old chunky & dorky nephew. The interaction between these 2 characters is pretty amusing as Go Jin continually tries to use this child to get closer to Ae Jung. At first, Go Jin (who knows nothing about children) is mostly an obnoxious and manipulative brute who frequently and openly makes fun of this kid (which he refers to as Ding Dong). Over time though, Go Jin comes to look at this nephew as his little adopted brother who he takes under his wing and gives life lessons to, helps become more popular at school, etc. In turn, the nephew becomes sort of a surrogate friend to the arrogant superstar who really doesn't have any friends of his own or anyone to confide in.

This show is pretty standard fare for this genre (i.e. it's a romantic drama with a bit of humor thrown in). You'll likely find it fairly agreeable if you enjoy this type of stuff. It's a 16 episode love quadrangle, with a number of side/back stories, and one of the characters might be dying of heart failure, so you should know by now what you're in for here if you watch this.

There's a good bit to like here. The four main cast members all put in good work and interact well together, writing is mostly solid, and it maintains a nice comedic romance feel for the bulk of the series. I was not particularly fond of how this show incorporated the plot regarding the heart problems of the one character, however; it couldn't seem to decide whether this should be used for comedic or dramatic effect or how much of an integral part it should play. Also, I think they dropped ball a bit over the last few episodes trying to wrap up all the story lines, but that's the way it goes sometimes with many of these shows.

Entertaining and plenty enjoyable overall...it's more than solid enough to recommend. I'd rate it in the 7-8 star range, and, I may have closely considered giving it the elusive 9 star rating I only rarely give out, if they'd tightened up the ending a little. Nevertheless, it is one of the better all around KTV melodramas.

Final Score: 8 stars!

This series is worth watching if only to watch one of the main characters in action, Doko-Jin. He's pompous and arrogant but also a softie. Observe as he chews up the scenery. I laughed til I cried.

It took me months to get ready to watch this series. Not because of the very 'dramatic' storyline but because I hated the appearance of the main male character so much. I hated the extravagant clothes he was wearing, his over-styled hairdo, the rings and bracelets he had, not to mention his arrogant, irritating behaviour (about this part I only had assumptions based on the poster and the description of the series). Please, don't get me wrong, I don't prefer bearded cavemen with zero personal hygiene but the main character's looks was a bit too much for my liking. It became clear though that these accessoires were only used to make him look more ridiculous. After the first couple of episodes I was sure that the 2nd leading male actor: Yoon Kye-Sang had no chance of winning the leading lady's heart because of his schoolboy appearance. In my opinion he looked even younger than in his 2004 film debut: 'Ballet gyoseubso' as opposed to the leading man who was clearly somewhat older and manlier too. I thought that if he could have looked like in these movies: Poongsan, Beomjoidosi or Good wife, he could have had a better chance to win this 'competition'. (For those who haven't watched these movies yet: in 'Poongsan' he was a good-looking silent 'saviour', in 'Beomjoidosi' he was a sexy beast and in 'Good wife' he had the look of an attractive, sophisticated business man). But then I had to realize that it is again the old cliché: the character is more important than the appearance. His character here was unrealistically good: he was decent, kind, he thought that the red-headed but sly actress was attractive but he wasn't after her - moreover he kept refusing her constant approaches. He was a bookworm, with rather boring interests like doing a puzzle. I would say that his character was a tiny bit too soft, rather feminine. On the other hand, the movie star was loud, rude, temperamental and mostly egoistic, but he was also surprisingly self-aware and he was able to admit if he made a mistake or said something wrong. So I would say that Yoon Kye-Sang's character was too perfect to be true and this is why he never had a real chance (obviously apart from the fact that the film makers didn't want to couple him up with the short-haired main actress, hahah). I enjoyed this series very much, it was really witty and had a lot of hilarious moments. The game with the phone number was every time funny. For me it was a 9 out of 10 points entertainment.

Attempts to blend romantic comedy with the backdrop of the entertainment industry, but unfortunately, its execution is mired in sexist undertones. The series revolves around a former A-list actress who has fallen from grace and her encounters with a self-absorbed celebrity. While the premise had potential to explore the complexities of fame and relationships, the show disappointingly chooses to focus on perpetuating gender stereotypes.

The portrayal of the female lead's career struggles takes a backseat to her romantic pursuit of the male lead, reinforcing the notion that a woman's accomplishments are secondary to her relationships. Moreover, the male lead's arrogance and condescending behavior are often justified by the narrative, reinforcing the problematic notion that such behavior is acceptable. This not only trivializes issues of consent and boundaries but also sends a concerning message to viewers.

Although there are moments of humor, the overall narrative fails to address these troubling aspects. It's disheartening to see a series that could have delved into meaningful discussions about gender dynamics and personal growth instead opting for shallow comedic tropes. In a landscape where viewers are seeking more progressive and inclusive content, this drama falls short and leaves a lingering disappointment due to its missed opportunities to offer a more nuanced and empowering perspective on relationships and careers.