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!