ACTIVELY BEING IRRESPONSIBLE

I still remembered back in 2004 when this show was first shown in Malaysia in Astro. I came back one day and saw my mom watching this peculiar show and she said that it was new and very interesting. I dismissed it as just a regular Korean drama that was filled with tears and some very contemporary and unconventional story. Boy was I ever so wrong!




This is a story mainly about a girl in medieval Korea that tried very hard to achieve what she wanted and strived to become the first female emperor's doctor. In the time when the world considers women as the weaker sex and all the females in the palace belongs to the emperor, this is an epic tale of girl trying to clear her mom's reputation, weaving around the conspiracy and deceit within the palace, friendship and untainted true love.

The acting in this drama was superb to say the least. The characters development are really deep and you really feel the deep resentment and regret when Lady Choe turned from being a young and naive internal worker to a murderer later. Also for Geum-Ying where you could not help but to think she is one of the good guys in the beginning. Throughout the show, you can't help but develop feelings for the characters. The deep hate and anger that Jang Geum feels when she was betrayed by her friends, the untainted and traditional love (although not too plausible) of Jang Geum and the male lead, the simple joys of being in a family with Jang Geum's adopted father and mother and the feeling of being rewarded when all of Jang Geum's hard work and determination paid off.



The show was a whole phenomenon that sweep across Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Canada, Chicago and Japan. In Hong Kong, it was the best performing foreign show with 40% ratings. It even had a "special edition" where they will showcase the many places, cultures and food/herbs in Korea that is presented in the show that might not be general knowledge to people outside of Korea.

Of course, the fans loved the female actress, Lee Young Ae, who is actually a veteran in the drama series first appearing on TV on 1993 and then regularly by 1995 in dramas as well as movies. She has the girl-next-door look and I would say that she is very very attractive even though she is already in her 30's. Strange enough, I share the same birthday as her, although 9 years removed apart. I also share the same blood type :P OK, I am getting creepy here. Currently this show has more impact to me than say, Star Trek:Voyager, my previous feel-good-inside fuel.