Story: The story was good... I guess? It was full of cliches and kind of predictable. There wasn't really any moment where I would go "OMG I can't believe that happened!". There were moments though when I thought "Ugh! I was hoping this wouldn't happen.". That said, it wasn't so bad. There were some dull moments and I never really got much into the story but it was entertaining to watch and it wasn't all that bad.
Characters: Throughout the first few episodes I kept saying "I want my Kim Boong Do back!". I don't know what Ji Hyun Woo was trying to do or if it was his fault or the writer's but I really didn't like his character! Jang Joon Hyun was awkward, and not in the good sense. And the clothes he wore, oh my God!! I remember, in one of the earlier episodes, he was wearing a shirt which had pictures of small pizza slices on it! And what was up with his hair?! Why were they golden/silver? The only moment he looked good was when he wore a brown wig. He did die his hair in the later episodes so that was a bit better. Other than looks I never really connected with his character at all. He, honestly, felt like a side character.
Jung Eun Ji was really good and Choi Choon Hee was a no-nonsense, strong female lead whom I admired very much! The poor girl went through so much but she worked hard. She sometimes came off as too simple or too good whereas I like my female leads with brains but overall she wasn't that bad, even likable and relatable.
Shin Sung Rok was amazing! To be honest I wasn't sure he would be able to pull it off. I mean his character here is so different from the one in You Who Came From The Stars (thank God!) and I was anticipating his performance but I was also scared that what if it would turn out to be a disaster. Thankfully, Shin Sung Rok showed here too what an amazing actor he is and shined in all of the scenes he was in. His character, Jo Geun Woo, is a very unique one. He is kind of crazy, but in a good way. He is nice and sweet but also smart and clever. He was different from your average second male lead and leave it to Shin Sung Rok to play unique characters splendidly!
I've never seen Lee Se Young in anything before. So the first time I saw Park Soo In I thought "OMG she's so pretty!". She really is. I really enjoyed her character and how she changed over the course of the drama. Her character was very deep and relatable (not for me, but I know a lot of people like her). Her life has been manipulated by her mother and she doesn't have any freedom to do what she wants. Her actions, even though they were wrong, seemed right for her. She was a character whose story I really enjoyed. (Shows that I'm a fan of broken characters.)
Out of the minor characters my favorite was Choon Hee's sister. The little girl who played her did such a wonderful job, she was better than Ji Hyun Woo! I'm not kidding, the kid was amazing! She was really adorable! These Korean child stars never fail to surprise me with their awesome acting abilities! I did like the other side characters, Choon Hee's coach, her senior, the debt collectors, Joon Hyun's manager, even that arrogant singer dude. They were all funny and helped the story-line. I hated Choon Hee's father and I cannot forgive him for what he did. Soo In's mother was a good villain and I understood her motivations. Her sidekick cracked me up every time he was on screen because he was also on Secret Love Affair and I just couldn't help but make up a story in my head that he got kicked out from his job there so he joined Shine Star. Poor guy :P
Romance: I did not like the main couple. Half because InHyun couple and Reply 1997 couple are so much better! And half because Shin Sung Rok & Jung Eun Ji had better chemistry than Jung Eun Ji with Ji Hyun Woo. So, I was not interested or invested much into this couple therefore I have very little to say about them. Except that they were extremely childish which I found uncomfortable.
Music: The music was really good! I had no idea Jung Eun Ji had such a powerful voice! She's an amazing singer! Ji Hyun Woo is good too. The music overall was really good and fun to listen to, even the trot music which I don't listen to that much.
Overall: Overall this was an okay drama. I would have liked it better if I had watched it at the beginning of my drama watching phase but now that I have seen so many amazing dramas this one fell short. I would recommend it though to new drama watchers and to people who want to see a childish romance.
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My favorite characters were the president and his son. Their characters were bearable. My actual favorite was tae song. Hez so quirky and witty I was bursting with laughter when he does reactions esp with the red pants scene. I dint realy care about the rest they were annoying esp the evil mom and her daughter. The ending for her wasn't what I wanted anyways, the music was great.
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What do I like about these TV series? Trot - the genre that is rather not present in the Korean dramas. Secondly, the main cast was superb.
Dislikes? Much too many. The cliche after cliche changed this drama from the really good one to kind of okay one. The drama had a potential that was totally wasted. For example, I love the character played by Shin Sung Rok (it was good to see him after "You who came from the stars"). The character he played was peculiar, but somehow charming - the "new president" of entertainment company. During the drama he was completely forgotten - I was feeling that making such special role and then not using it was kind of wasting his skills. I was looking forward to finding the reasons why he was behaving in such way. Unfortunetly, it didn't happen.
I think two kinds of people could really enjoy the drama. I recommend these series for people who are the beginners in the Asian drama world and have not seen much + for music fans. Eun Ji’s singing skills were really great.
Overall, the drama was enjoyable, fun to watch, but nothing more. If you are looking for something different and surprising stay away from it!
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Jung Eun Ji, Ji Hyun Woo, and Shin Sung Rok were all excellent leads; they made the best out of their dull, lifeless characters. The rest of the acting was average, if not below.
In terms of fulfilling the musical aspect of it's story, I was surprised at how well it excelled my expectations. Unlike many musical dramas, they did not repeat the same soundtrack song at every opportunity they could (Dream High, anyone?). The variance in trot songs was delightful.
If the first time watching this drama lacked any element of surprise, I cannot imagine how grueling a second run would be. Having to sit through this show knowing that nothing you are watching contributes to the story is entirely too mind numbing.
Overall, it is not something I would recommend. I was a victim of my own bias toward the leading actors, and without them, I would not have made it through this drama.
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I am a person who doesn't mind cliches that much as long as they are not boring. This drama was full of boring, predictable cliches which didn't make much sense. It was hard to care about ANY character in the drama except Byul.. Most characters were superficial and underdeveloped. Shin Sung Rok was awesome at the beginning but then his character faded into the background and he lost all his sparks, I don't blame the actor I blame the script.
The plot was simply boring and at times just stupid. It's not hard to follow but it's just too boring and predictable. I don't recommend this show to anyone. The music was good, a lot of trot songs, but I am not a fan of musicals.
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The first time I uttered "You have potential" was at the story. I looked forward to a narrative about trot music and about a girl trying to make it with trot music (not an exceedingly popular genre) in a time where pop is royalty. Obviously, knowing it's a rom-com, I knew there would be a romance, but I didn't really care about that. I just wanted to see growth, in the characters and in the narrative.
That's where the potential fizzled out. The story of Trot Lovers reeked of cliche, of moments where the narrative could have ventured into new territory. Instead, the show kept the status quo, threw in elements of makjang the size of large watermelons, and basically disrupted it's main premise--to feature trot music.
It's a shame, really, that the story had to be like that when given to such a talented cast. Jung Eunji was fairly on-point with her character Chun Hee. Her acting and her voice were spectacular. Shin Sung Rok made a loveable, goofy, and quirky son of a President and Ji Hyun Woo, barring the first couple of episodes, wasn't too bad as Joon Hyun. The star of the drama, in my opinion, was Yoo Eun Mi, whose character Byul lifted our spirits when the plot could not.
Despite this, even the acting had flaws in its potential. Lee Se Young's Soo In (and admittedly, it may in part be the writing) was a decidedly one-note character whose pathos was completely unpalatable once it moved past petty jealousy.
Musically, however, Trot Lovers held a decent amount of potential, and for the most part, fulfilled that promise. While I wished there was a bit more trot actually performed throughout the drama, when it was performed, it was very good.
Overall, Trot Lovers slid into that mold of mediocrity pretty well. It had cute, even funny moments, but those moments never imprinted much on me, never gave me any anticipation for the show, and never made me jump for joy at a new episode. It was glitzy and glittery, but had very little feeling outside of its main characters. For me, the show was not a rising star, but a falling one.
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(First of all , I must say I'm reviewing this drama as a comedy-romantic drama and I'm comparing it with other Korean comedy-romantic dramas)
Let's disscus something first : What's the point of making a Comedy-romance ?!
And what points a comedy-romance must have and offer the audiences ?
= A comedy-romance , as it goes without saying , must have a new attractive love story with some taste of fun and laugh ! And still have something new to talk about or in other words : Gives us some lessons of good and bad sides of life ! And as a musical , it must have great MUSIC !!!
Trot lovers , is exactly like what a great comedy-romantic must be !
The only negative point I can mention about this drama is probably what people call : (Cliche) !
Yep ! It did have some (or maybe many) cliche parts ... But really , doesn't life have some cliche parts too??? Haha ! Just saying :)
Anyways , the good storyline and amazing actings (specially Eun Ji's) along with music and fun in this drama , makes you curious about the rest of it (even if you can already guess !!!) .
I was amazed by the great and different characterizations : As an example I liked the fact that Eunji and Ji Hyun Woo were totally from different worlds , And until the end of the drama they're still far too different!
Some characters were so unique and new to me LIKE : Shin Sung Rok's moody and cool character !
Sometimes he seems like a strick serious CEO , sometimes like a silly , funny kid , and sometimes like a man , who's in LOVE :D I liked him so much ! His acting skills were apparently shown in this drama ! I'm looking forward to see more of his acting !
One other reason for my love to this drama was that it made me know Korean Trot songs and fall in love with them ! I think they couldn't choose any better way to introduce their Trot music to the world and also to they younger ones !
I appreciate the director for choosing Eunji for this rule ! I believe nobody could do it better than her !
If I hadn't seen her in Apink and If I didn't know she sings Pop , I could swear that she was born to sing Trot ! <3
The feeling she could show both with her singing and her acting were amazingly heart-touching !
I think this drama mostly tried to show the bitter and sweet sides of life by means of MUSIC and SINGING !
This drama was like life ... It made you love ... made you hate ... made you laugh ... made you cry ... and it had too many lessons to teach ! lessons about Love , Family , Hope and Dreams <3
I highly recommend it to everyone <3
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Yea, she was/is awesome.
This drama started off well, and for the most part I enjoyed it. Not being familiar with the Trot genre, took me a song or two to get used to it but I appreciate it now. In terms of the story, either than a trot singer infiltrating the pop-saturated music scene, there really wasn't anything unique. The first half was good, setting up the story and getting things rolling, but halfway through it started to get bland and generic, story-wise. Several common drama plot twists were used and slightly lowered my motivation to keep watching. The ending was ok - not exciting, and not bad either.
The two strongest points of the drama though were the acting and the music. The cast were all great and fit each of their roles well. The two main characters shared such a genuine and emotional bond that really added to the overall mood of the drama. Their scenes were always warm and felt real. Although all of the characters were portrayed very well, there really weren't any unique characters either, save a few. Shin Sung Rok (Mr. President) really was a breathe of fresh air. His slightly awkward demeanor melded so well with his playfulness and quirky lines. Each of his scenes were great to watch. As for Eun Ji (Choi Chun Hee), from the first line I wrote, it's easy to know what I thought about her. Her character was pretty typical, but at times she proved to be quite different from other main characters. Eun Ji herself though. Wonderful. Excellent. Super. That's all you need to know.
As for the music, I appreciate this drama for bringing to the spotlight a great genre of music. The OST was great, not really much for me to say there. But the performances, especially Eun Ji's, were always well done. She has such a beautiful and rich voice backed by great control and feeling. Each and every time she sang her emotions could be felt through the computer screen. Not just her though, every cast member who sang did a great job.
Overall, if you enjoy great quality singing, if you cannot resist funny quirky characters, if you enjoy super intimately cute moments, or if you are a fan of Eun Ji, I suggest you watch this. If you're looking for a ground-breakingly unique and original drama, this is not what you're looking for.
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The story was not something promising. Take your typical jerky singer, a talented but poor girl, a rich and nice guy as the second lead, and a flat marionette-second-female-lead, and you get Trot Lovers. As I said, nothing new, but the first episodes were really enjoyable, I laughed a lot, and I could feel the chemistry between the leads, so it was bearable. At some certain points, my heart fluttered when the leads were close, so I thought that this drama will go up in my top.
But as the clichees came, the story was ruined, so it became kind of hard to watch... The producers wanted to approach many subjects, but they started them and they either never finished them, or left them unclear.
On the other side, the cast was great. I really liked Ji Hyun Woo as Joon Hyun, and Jung Eun Ji as Choi Chun Hee. I have never heard of her before, but I really loved both the actress and her character. Also, her voice is amazing, and I really enjoyed the times when she performed. Shin Sung Rok was amazing, he really is a great actor. I have seen him in You Who Came From The Stars, as the psycho brother, and I really hated his character. Here, as well, he sold his character very well., Also, how could I not mention the bromance moments? Lee Se Young was just... flat. I felt sorry for her character at some points, but neither the acting nor the character caught me. Yoo Eun Mi was the cherry on the cake, I really loved her character, and I was so happy to see her! She made me keep watching the drama lol. Also, I really liked Tae Song and Pil Nyeo. Great cast!
About the music... I really liked when they sang, those were some great moments, but the OST didn't really catch me, it felt... poorly made.
Rewatch value? No, I won't rewatch this drama.
Overall, I gave it a 6. I couldn't decide between 5 and 6, but I gave it an extra point for the cast! :)
If you want to watch a drama full of clichees, which becomes overly dramatic, you can watch this. But if you want to watch a drama that brings something new, something well-done, keep searching, this may not be the drama you are looking for.
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This drama is such a waste of great ideas. I mean trot music? What's that? I was so intrigued because those are not the typical melodies we get to hear in dramas (not from people under 40 anyway) and the girl can really sing. I replayed each song she sang because she was really spot on. That said the first episodes got me. There were few clichés but bearable, the male lead was a total piece of trash and I got the second lead syndrome right away, because the second male lead just sparks with his weird vibe and charisma. Actually I think he would have been a better choice for first lead, their interactions were weird, funny and unusual. Then something changed. The ceo who couldn't remember his own password and mistakenly took other people's stuff, who was all flirty and easygoing (also kinda mysterious) became the boring third wheel of another damn triangle. The girl who told him he was weird, crazy and psycho just had a little tiny crush for some episodes and became all nice (I particularly liked the scene when ceo and the shady boss of the bar contracted her purchase because she has temper and she's not sexy and she just yelled things and run away lol it was so funny hahaha I laughed a lot also when the gangsters buried the ml and the fl run away after a call and forgot about him xD)
I love the interactions between Byul and both male lead, but more with Jang Joon. He was such an housewife lol
And that's all I think was memorable about this show. There were some pretty good inputs like the older unni, the gangsters who love trot misic and that assistant (I loved him in go back couple) but they just took the time they found and became flat and boring pretty fast. Also some characters (male leads in particular got a complete u turn in their personalities like if you watch the first episode and then the 10th you won't recognize them lol)
The premise of the father running away made no sense, especially because at some point she supposedly paid off the debt (we don't get to know much about it tbh), she just entered the company like that and boom. First single. Broadcast. Of course the other people thought she was a gold digger or smth. I don't feel like hating the second lead, even tho they won't really get punished (as usual it all ends up well even for the antagonists who just plotted and plotted against the protagonist)
It's like at some point they ran out of ideas and they just put into the cauldron every possible drama typical trope: amnesia, triangle, noble idiocy, bitchy female second leads, an old secret between the parents and so on. What a shame, really. This drama could have been a gem!
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Hidden Gem
9/10 is my rating. This is a 2014 South Korean Romantic Drama with 16, 60 minute episodes. Also known as "Lovers of Trot" and "Trot Romance" and "Trot Lovers".Choi Choon-hee (Jung Eun-ji) has lived a difficult with her mother dying in her young years and her father embroiled in debts from a gambling habit. She finds herself the main income earner for the household too busy earning a living to pursue her dreams. When her father disappears she also now has her younger sister to take care of. With debt collectors barking at her heels, things seem pretty desperate for Choon-hee. One of her greatest outlets is singing Trot at the local noerabangs, a talent she inherited from her late mother (who was a professional signer that released one album before her death). However, someone has been watching Choon-hee, someone who knew her late mother and wants to give Choon-hee a chance to realize her dreams of becoming a famous trot singer. So when down on his luck Jang Joon-hyun (Ji Hyun-woo) becomes available due to a scandal which suspends his successful songwriter/music producer career, that someone seizes the opportunity to enlist Joon-hyun to train the aspiring singer. Joon-hyun is not a fan of trot but he doesn't have many options to break back in to the music scene. Joon-hyun and Choon-hee had met before, and did not think very highly of each other. As they work together toward common goals, love blossoms in this unlikely place. Can Choon-hee realize her dream and change the direction of Joon-hyun's life/career?
I have to say Trot was also not my favorite music. However, Choon-hee's rich, smokey voice had me enjoying this fringe music more and more as the series wore on. I also did not like Joon-hyun in the beginning as he did such an excellent job of playing the spoiled, arrogant super star. Choon-hee's little sister, Choi Byul (Yoo Eun-mi) was a real show stealer. I really enjoyed every scene she was in. Despite having some plot holes and an aspect of the storyline that I am not a fan of, I overall enjoyed this drama immensely and am surprised it does not come up on the majority of lists of good dramas to watch. It received awards the year it came out and I can completely understand why - it has even aged well. Spoilers* There were a lot of plot holes. At the start of the series Joon-hyun is framed in a sex scandal and that is the reason he falls from grace as the "god of music." What was never explained is why? You know the motivation of his manager, he was offered a chance to sing by a rival music company, but you do not know why the people that took him down wanted to bring him down. There was a brief scene where it seemed some executive had something against him but that was nevery fleshed out. It also wasn't clear why his agency did not stick up for one of their top stars more. The reason all the events happened with the parents was not fully explained. It seemed both women were in the car and perhaps shared responsibility for what happened to Choon-hee's mom but it was never fully explained how that all went down. And what role did Choon-hee's father play - they all called him oppa which is typically reserved for close relationships but it wasn't clear if they all went to school together, were all trainees, or just what the relationship of Choon-hee's father was with the rest of the women. It also wasn't clear how Choon-hee's mother died. There were some references that made me infer she died of some sort of illness but I was never completely sure. The chemistry between the male and female leads was over the top. They were the cutest couple. Everyone kept indicating Choon-hee was not all that attractive and I thought she was actually very pretty and cute. Then there was some of the "classic" only in Korean drama things such as the women fall in a pool and for some reason start drowning. There is an accident and Joon-hyun loses his memory and forgets about his love for Choon-hee. And then, when they find out Joon-hyun's mother was involved in Choon-hee's mother's accident the couple, who were about to be married, take a break. And he goes to the USA for a year and doesn't call or write. Then he comes back, his fame restored, but with some attractive female manager on his arm. There are even rumours he is in a relationship with the manager. But then he approaches Choon-hee and she is a little mad at first but then quickly they are back to being a couple as if nothing of that ever happened. I would have liked for her to ask him why he never called or wrote but she did not even do that. But the relationship between the two was so hearwarming and believable I was able to see past quite a few plot holes and still very much enjoy this drama. I would watch this again and highly recommend this underrated drama to others.
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