Let's Eat! Korean Drama Review

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Sometimes, real life intrudes on my K-drama watching/writing schedule. An unexpected trip out of town + catching up on work as a result of going out of town = finally catching up on a few reviews that I've had on the shelf for weeks and weeks. I'll get around to reviewing I Need Romance 3 someday (...maybe), but for today, let's talk Let's Eat. 

This show wasn't even remotely on my radar until multiple readers asked for reviews, so I decided to give it a try. I'm all about underrated, quirky dramas, and Let's Eat had quirkiness in spades, for good and bad.

What It's About: Lee Soo Kyung (Played by Lee Soo Kyung--how convenient for her!) is a divorced woman who lives alone. She loves her adorable dog, Barassi (a play on the Korean pronunciation of Che Guevara), and she really, really loves food. Over the course of the series, she gets to know her neighbors, and everyone eats a ton of food.

At its heart, Let's Eat is a pleasant, fluffy drama that doubles as food porn. And when I say food porn, I mean that very literally. Upon hearing the various eating groans, my husband came into the room more than once to ask "What on earth are you watching?" On the one hand, the Food Network lover in me really enjoyed seeing bowl after bowl of amazing food. On the other hand, some episodes literally featured fifteen full minutes of slow mo eating. That's not an exaggeration.

Then there's the murder side plot. Did I mention that there's murder on this show? No? That's because it's tossed into the story as an afterthought. This is how I imagine the murder plot evolving:

Cable executive: I know that you wanted to do a show about food, but this script already involves 30 minutes of people eating. What are you going to do for the last 10 minutes?
Writer: .....Murder?

The central romance also felt a little haphazard and forced at times. Based on the first ten episodes of the show, they could have gotten away with no romance at all. Then, suddenly, the romance charges ahead with full steam. There were very cute moments, but I just didn't see much chemistry between the leads.

If all of this sounds like I didn't enjoy Let's Eat, that's not the case. When the show focused on the four lead characters and their growing friendships, it worked really well. Goo Dae Young (Yoon Doo Joon) was a tough character to figure out at first, and that's what kept me interested. I get tired of traditional male leads from time to time, and the friendly insurance salesman who wears a tracksuit and leaves all of his clothes at the dry cleaner's was an interesting break from the mold. Doo Joon did really well for an idol-turned-actor.

I didn't fully connect with Lee Soo Kyung's character, but after watching both Emergency Couple and Sly and Single Again, it was nice to see a story about a divorcee that didn't revolve around some long, drawn out backstory. The drama just treats it as a matter-of-fact part of her life.

Barassi clearly takes the cake as the best side character in the entire show, but Kim Hak Moon and Yoon Jin Yi round out the cast nicely. Once again subverting drama stereotypes, Jin Yi might be the sweetest second female lead of all time, and Hak Moon starts with a haughty first lead exterior, only to reveal an adorkable goofy side.

Conclusions
It's an uneven drama, and some of the extended eating scenes are borderline uncomfortable to watch, but if you love food shows and light noona romances, this might be the drama of your dreams! Just don't watch on an empty stomach.

Where to watch Let's Eat:
Viki

Finding My K-Drama Alter-Ego: A Gentleman's Dignity Review

I have this theory that you can learn pretty much anything you need to know about a person by asking them which Disney character they relate to the most (not which one they wish they could be, which is very different).  For example, my friends have told me on more than one occasion that I remind them of the evil asylum man in Beauty and the Beast.  Enough said.

Over years of asking people this question, I've noticed that 90% of women will claim that they most resemble Belle or Mulan.  At first, this seemed like complete arrogance because, let's face it, no one is as great as Belle, but then I realized that it wasn't a lie: for all introverted nerds out there, Belle really is the best (though idealized) Disney character match.  For socially awkward tomboys, it's Mulan.

I think I've found my Belle of the k-drama world in Seo Yi Soo of A Gentleman's Dignity.  I have a hard time relating to most k-drama leading ladies because they are either sassy loudmouths who are infinitely better at beating people up than I am, or they are sad puppies who don't understand even basic social cues.  In fact, this is why, in spite of her mad chemistry with lead actors, I can't quite join the Yoon Eun Hye fanclub like Coco has.  Eun Hye's characters are often so blatant and socially unaware with their emotions that it makes me uncomfortable as a viewer. (Stop standing in front of his car and crying like a maniac! He doesn't even know you're a girl!)

Fine, Yi Soo, you win me over with your poise and your charm
and your potted plant!  Now give me those clothes!

Seo Yi Soo, on the other hand, is someone I can understand.  Although she has much more charm and silkier hair than I will ever have, I felt myself relating to her. She cares about education and loves to teach (Since teaching is what my daytime non-kdrama watching alter-ego does for a living, this one really made me root for her).  She also loves sports and doesn't mind being all sweaty and gross in front of other people. She understands basic social cues without being a doormat.  Also, her wardrobe is amazing.

And therein lies the entire charm of A Gentleman's Dignity.  I can't recommend this show wholesale because I know it will bore a lot of people, and I don't have any argument against their boredom.  I should have been bored watching what could have been real people with real emotions in real relationships (aside from some manufactured drama at the end) episode after episode.  Interestingly enough, I used my fast forward button far less than usual with this one.  I also became insanely emotionally invested in the characters, which is saying something.  I actually caught myself clutching my heart at one point. Clutching my heart!  Someone needs to stage an intervention.  What is this nonsense melting my evil asylum man heart?

Come to think of it all of the clothing in this show was stellar.
No sequins or fur capes here!

This goes along with the idea of the show's charming realism, but the bromance was a major high point in this show.  I know that I already said the same thing about Rooftop Prince, but I guess I'm just a sucker for hilarious male friendship!  I remember seeing some reviewers who felt like the friendship was unrealistic for 40-year-old men, but I disagree.  I think everyone has those friends who always make you revert to a past version of yourself, no matter how much time passes.  I didn't like all of them all the time (Okay, I sometimes hated Jung-Rok), but I enjoyed the group dynamic.

Last thing that I appreciated:  the OST.  Who can resist a slightly off-pitch indie love song or a ballad that one of the characters sings to earn money in the streets?

Minor Downsides

Sure, there were some downsides to the show.  Although these might not have been the biggest problems, they were the ones that hindered my enjoyment the most:

1. As I said before, there was some pretty manufactured drama for the last few episodes, and I'm not sure the characters reacted in reasonable ways.  Why was all of this stuff such a big deal?  Then again, if Coco tried to marry my (currently) 16-year-old brother in 10 years, I would probably punch her in the face, too, so maybe I shouldn't judge? 

Just fast forward all 3 hours of this.

2. Speaking of Im Meari, her crying face is the worst. Happy Meari is endearing, but wailing Meari is terrible. I know that they're trying to highlight the age/maturity difference between her and Yoon, but why did she have to hop around and sob all of the time if she's 24 years old?  Even back when I was 18 and my friends sometimes cried over boys (*cough*Coco*cough*), I don't recall any of them jumping up and down or screeching at birthday parties. 

3. Jang Dong Gun's cheekbones are distractingly pointy, which made him look slightly skeletal for a while.  I got over it once his character grew on me a little.

With all of these elements combined, I enjoyed this show far more than I think I should have.  Like I said, I can't blame you if you hated it, but it won me over big time.

P.S. If Yi Soo is the idealized k-drama Disney princess most similar to me, Secret Garden's Gil Ra Im is the one I wish were most similar to me.  Who's yours?