With four main players and side characters moving from the riches to rags to riches to happiness kind of story, I was an invisible member of the production team feeling the reality, the failure, and the triumph of the King of Dramas.
- Main Cast: Kim Myung Min | Jung Ryeo Won | Choi Si Won | Oh Ji Eun
- Addictive Meter:
- Overall Rating:
- Rewatch Value:
- K-Dramas of Similar Vibe: Strongest Deliveryman | Beethoven Virus
Staging a comeback to Korean drama production, Anthony Kim who used to be a big shot drama producer beat all the odds and reformed himself to successfully notch his return to the world he was once famous for. But he has to compete with his former master and assistant to do that. With his keen mind and full heart, he managed to achieve his hard-earned return, and more than that he understood what was lacking to him as a person.
When he was the CEO of Empire Production (leading TV drama production team), he has a notorious reputation for his social skills. But because he can strike really good dramas the drama industry was left no choice but to work with him. All he was focused on was the success rate of the drama and money, but his assistant ploy an evil plan, and the chairman of the production company kicked him out.
For the next three years, he struggled to get back to the field by opening his company World Productions. The opportunity he needed to spark his return came in when a rich Japanese investor read a script he sent but he has to convince the writer Lee Go Eun whose dream of becoming a writer was also ended by him. When she hit by Anthony’s pep talk of her grilling mackerel all her life, she decided to give her dream another try.
The King of Dramas Peak Points
Conflict after conflict, I was patient and feeling the characters moved through their destination. From finding an investor for the money to getting the main actors and director to securing the broadcast slot and to the plagiarism stint that would have halted the first air date, I really gave a sigh when “Morning in Kyeongseong” was finally aired.
There were just so many stories, hard work and effort put into it that it even affected me. I could understand and relate to this drama because my inclination used to be being a part of a drama production too.
This drama is equal parts smart and brave. The humor was hilarious, witty and pointed out a lot of inside jokes in Korean drama production land. The romance is not the primary driver of the drama, it was really the characters… how they evolved to be their better versions, and how they blended into each other.
They made me anticipate their next move and it was nice that they didn’t really make the underdogs so overly under. That being said, they gave the upper hand to the villains but they provided an equalizer to the main leads by outsmarting the antagonists.
Beethoven Virus was when I first saw Kim Myung Min, and it’s already given that he’s not eye candy but he can really draw superb performance. Since becoming Baek Yoo Chi and the movie Pained, I have been keeping tabs on Jung Ryu Won and it’s good that they didn’t make their romance part dream-like but just eventual.
Choi Si Won pulled a few mirths out of me in his cute performance and the bromance My Sassy Girl scene with his PA made me laugh for two minutes.
The King of Dramas Series Musings
The King of Dramas is beautiful depending on the perceiver’s eyes. If you are up to just rose petals and romance, then this might not work for you. It was a drama narrating a great story of bouncing back after a slump in someone’s life. All throughout it was very realistic and straight to the point.
I had a slight disappointment about the lead man getting blind. It was just overkilled for me. I was not expecting a happy ending but just a fair one. I mean after blinding him you used their love to be together because of the blindness. If I would end the story, I would have just made them back to their usual bickering relationship while working on another drama. It would be a safe ending but not forcing a character redeeming scapegoat.
It was a drama about making a drama, and that has made this work interesting. Although I liked the portrayals a lot, I would score an above fair rating for now and will wait if there’s a drama with the same vibe that can even out or even mock the King of Dramas.
Photos: SBS
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