Me and my so-called "little" addictions!

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

K-drama: Gu Family Book / The Love Story of Kang Chi

I was told by my friend to watch the Gu Family Book a month ago but I got hesitant because I'm not really a fan of Time Travel Drama (except for Rooftop Prince and Sungkyunwan Scandal). I also don't know the lead stars (okay, Lee Seung Ki and Suzy fans - kill me now!) so I didn't bother to watch but just two weeks ago, I decided to give it a try since I ran out of dramas to watch.




Overall Review
(setting it to 10 as being the highest)

8.9/10

Characters:

Main Cast:

Lee Seung Gi as Choi Kang Chi
Bae Suzy as Dam Yeo-Wool
Lee Sung Jae as Jo Gwan-Woong
Sung Joon as Gon
Yoo Yeon-Seok as Tae Soo
Choi Jin-hyuk as Wol Ryung
Lee Yu-bi as Chung Jo
Lee Yeon-hee as Seo Hwa

Other important cast (on screen):

Admiral Lee Shoon Shin (my favorite)
Dam Pyeong Joon
Chun Soo-ryun
Monk


The Beginning

From episodes 1-3, I didn't blink an eye (weh!). The first part of the series was about Kang Chi's history. It showed the love story of his parents Wol Ryung (divine creature/Gumiho) and Seo Hwa (human) and how they were separated by fear and hesitations.


Wol Ryung a divine creature (protector of the rivers and mountains in the forest) fell in love with Seo Hwa, the daughter of a businessman who was killed by Lord Bi Jo (later known as Jo Gwan-Woong) to obtain his wealth and properties. Seo Hwa's oroignal fate was to become a gisaeng but Wol Ryung saved her but Seo Hwa didn't know that Wol Ryung is a gumiho. She was saved and eventually fell in love with Wol Ryung, got married and got pregnant. Wol Ryung really loved Seo Hwa that he even wanted to become a human with the help of the Gu Family Book. The test in order for Wol Ryung to become a human is to pray for 100 days, should not help/save anyone who needs his help and should not reveal to any human being that he is a divine creature. Well he did the 90 days successfully but the final 10 days was a failure...



The happy marriage they shared for a few months turned into something tragic. Seo Hwa was captured by villains (Lord Bi Jo's team) and as Wol Ryung tried saving her, it was also then revealed that he was a divine creature (which is supposedly not to happen). To Seo Hwa's surprise, she was scared and ran away from Wol Ryung. To cut the story short, Seo Hwa surrendered her love for Wol Ryung because of fear and anger and reported it to the authorities and Wol Ryung got killed by then military head, Dam Pyeong-Joon only to realize how much she loved him despite of that -- what can we, it's too late! Months later, she gave birth to a boy and was abandoned in the river.



On Wo Ryul and Seo Hwa: From MAGIC to TRAGIC. That's how I define it. LOL.

Choi Kang Chi, The Beginning

Kang means river and Chi means abandoned, this is the beginning of Kang Chi's story. So excited!

While having a small feast by the river, Lord Park heard a baby crying, he then saw this basket flowing in the river, he held it and saw a baby. So Jung, a monk (best friend of Wol Ryung) told Lord Park to take care of the baby and adopt him as this child will bring luck and fortune to their business which is at that time not doing any good. So Jung also gave Kang Chi a bracelet and told Lord Park not to remove it until he reaches the age of 20. This bracelet will be Kang Chi's protection that would hide his real identity of being a half divine creature and half human.

By which, Kang Chi was adopted by Park Mu-Sol or known as Lord Park of the Hundred Year Inn (where the story takes place most). As what So Jung told Lord Park, his business became the most successful in Joeson.
Kang Chi is loved by so many. He's a savior of the weak and abused, a good son to his adoptive father, Choi who's a servant to Lord Park. He's a happy go lucky kind of guy who has a warm heart for everyone. And even though he was not a biological son of Lord Park, he was treated as one.

Everything was doing well at the Hundred Year Inn until Jo Gwan-Woong decided to acquire Lord Park's business. Jo Gwan-Woong planned to also kill Lord Park but since Kang Chi promised to do everything to protect his loved one and the Hundred Year Inn, he was the one who faced Jo Gwan-Woong upfront. It was then when the real story of Kang Chi began, when Lord Park got killed while we was trying to protect Kang Chi.

Kang Chi, Lord Park's family and the family at the Hundred Year Inn felt low when Park Moo Sol died, he wanted revenge, he wanted to take what originally belonged to Lord Park and to the Hundred Year Inn. Later on, he also then realized that he wasn't an ordinary human being, that he was something even more special.


The Review





Gu Family book is really entertaining. You will fall in love with love more than a hundred times, will eventually fall for Kang Chi's killer smile, be lost in a whirlwind of emotions - hate Jo Gwan-Woong and want to stab him million times, fear death and will admire the strength, goodness and determination of all the characters.


My favorite character will of course be Choi Kang Chi and Dam Yeo-Wool. They are my favorite on-screen couple now, their love isn't developed in a matter of seconds unlike other drama series, it was a progressive love story that ended up to be a real one. The strength they draw from each other made me realize that love like this is just once in a lifetime. They are willing to save each other even though it means dying.



I smiled a lot, got really scared when they were using their bow and arrows, fell head over heels for their love story and cried for the heart breaking scenes which almost lead them to death. They also had the best kissing scene ever, it's so passionate that you would really think that they were real couples in real life. Arghhh, sweetness overload.

“Let’s meet again. I will wait. Let’s definitely meet again” -Kang Chi

“The time when we meet again, I will recognize you first. The time when we meet again, I will love you first” -Kang Chi

“Like that the sound of her breath stopped. And also, just like that… my time stopped” -Kang Chi

“And my time that stopped, started to flow again” -Kang Chi


Negative note:

On Jo Gwan-Woong:

I just don't like Jo Gwan-Woong getting killed too long! I think I developed too much hatred on him until the episode 24, imagine being there from beginning to end. They should have shortened it or at least 15 episodes and added new villains as effective as him. He is so damn annoying! Hehe!

Gu Family Book related stuff

I think they have missed so much on this. The title is Gu Family book, but what happened to it? It got lost after the few last episodes, there's no conclusion to it. Sayang! Although a good conclusion to this was it wasn't that successful because even in the modern times, he couldn't resist helping and saving others.


Ending

It had a beautiful ending but not too convincing, I guess you should watch it yourself, it could have been better if they had a happily ever after.

Positive note:

24 episodes with a running time of 45mins will never be a waste. The story of the Gu Family Book will teach you so many things about love and life in general. The OST of the drama also made a mark in my head, argh!


Oh well, I just wish it had a Part Two! It's so good that I got addicted to it. LOL. Definitely, it's not boring!!! I think my standards for a Korean Drama just increased because of the good effect of the Love of Story of Kang Chi brought me! I don't want it to end. LOL!


Favorite Quotations form Gu Family Book

“I’ve seen numerous people born as humans, but act less than animals. What makes you human is not your birth, but what you hold dear in your heart.” - Admiral Lee Soon Shin

“Whether you’re half human or not, she may not care about your outer appearance. No matter how your eyes and face change, you’re still Choi Kang Chi inside.” -Yeo Wool

“The ones you love the most are always the ones that hurt you the most. You get hurt because you love and care about them.” -Admiral Lee Soon Shin

“A man needs a friend to share goals with… A woman to share his heart with… A nation to serve with all his heart. That’s the best life one can live.” -Admiral Lee Soon Shin-

“Living your life only to get acknowledged by others, that’s hypocrisy.” -Admiral Lee Soon Shin
“The weight of trust is the weight of one’s relationship. If you want to be trusted, first learn how to get along with others.” -Admiral Lee Soon Shin

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Disclaimer: I don't own the photos. Credits to owner. Thank you!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah, Love Story of Kang Chi is such an amazing drama!!! ;)

By the way, for those who want the OST CD2 for GU Family book

You can download it here: http://tambay.nazuka.net/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=16

mickey said...

i do agree with all the reviews. these couple (kang chi & yeo wool) had the nicest kissed ever, so real! Lee seung gi is not really a good looking guy but gosh his smile make me feel so inlove with him many times, i do like him already!! this kdrama was really nice. but not so with the ending, coz it made me sad :-( ! but then again, despite that sadness there was a heart touching side on it. hope there is book 2 of this.

Unknown said...

I love wol ryung ^^ Btw it's such an amazing drama :)

rossetteayu said...

Haven't watched the entire drama yet, but I love the pre-Kang Chi years. And Lee Yeon-hee. =) But still, such a sad story for Wol Ryung and Seo Hwa.

Unknown said...

Sleepless nights of continous watching were definately worth it
The love drama between kanchi and sir dam was so moving plus the love songs..kangchi's fighting skills were awesome..this movie topped my List in 2014 for sure

Professor AKIA said...

Hello. This is A.K.I.A. Talking…
Thanks for the great review of Gu Family Book 구가의 서! I enjoyed it a lot.
I added it to my collection of reviews for the show. The show has now an average score of 78%.
I personally never seen it so I have no opinion.
Here is a link to the page if you would like to give it a look:
http://www.akiatalking.com/2014/12/gu-family-book-2013-db-reviews.html
Thanks again for the review. If you want to do something with my blog, please contact me.

D_Jai said...

Hey guys!
Gu Family Book is one of the finest dramas of South Korea.
In my opinion it beats every drama in political scenes and script-writing! The villain is too cruel to ignore. Wol Ryung is on his topmost charisma when he returns! The best look of this serial! Apart from this, the role of Yeo Wool is completely justified by Bae Suzy. Lee Seong Gi is at his best to look charming and aggressive at the same time. I liked political situations created by villain and proper remedies by Admiral Lee. The quotes and dialogs are one of the finest! Congratulations 'Gu Family Book Team'!!!! I would love to see this serial for more times too!

Kez said...

Ummmm.. But can someone please explain to me as to how seo hwa's face changed after coming back frim japan as a merchant head? I mean is it like she grew old or am i missing

something?

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