Back in March, we were all excited for the airing of three highly anticipated dramas: Thank You (Jang Hyuk & Kong Hyo Jin), Witch Amusement (Han Ga-in & Jaehee) and The Devil (Joo Ji Hoon & Shin Mina). The cast, staff and the script writers for the dramas were top-notch, naturally creating a massive hype around these dramas. Specifically, Witch Amusement and The Devil received the most attention while Thank You was sort of ignored in the mediasphere.
But this is what we Koreans call “반전” or a complete twist. Despite all the hype and sky high expectations, Witch Amusement and The Devil failed to dominate the Wednesday/Thursday night slot, ending with 12.9% and 7.7% Nielsen Ratings respectively, while Thank You captured the hearts of the entire nation making fans sob and laugh in front of their tv screens with 20.5% Nielsen Ratings.
Although many of our readers believe that Nielsen ratings are not indicative of the drama’s popularity, it accurately depicted my interest level in these dramas. I was literally glued to my computer screen while watching Thank You. I cried when Bomi’s (Spring) family became Blue Island’s outcast because Bomi had AIDS and I was so happy when Jang Hyuk came back to take care of Bomi and her mom. I could go on and on about all the times this drama made me cry, laugh and smile, but I won’t so you can enjoy them yourself. It’s totally worth the time and effort you put into to enjoy this drama.
I also like The Devil a lot, but I totally understand why the ratings are low. Unless you are hooked from the start, it’s really hard to follow the story mid-way. The story is just too complicated with tarot cards, psychometry, perfectly planned murders and family secrets and if you don’t dedicate your time and energy to really understand the mystery, it’s really easy to loose interest. With that said, I followed it from the start and it’s truly an amazing drama. Nothing in the drama is typical or obvious and it keeps you at the edge of your seat to figure out whether or not Kang Oh Soo (Uhm Tae Woong) will find out who’s behind the murders.
Finally Witch Amusement started out very hip and interesting, but it started to drag on in the middle making it unbearable to complete the drama. From what I remember, it started to get boring when the three guys in her life, housekeeper (Jae Hee), sunbae (Kim Jung Hoon) and chef friend (Dennis Oh) all realized that they had feelings for her around the same time. It as obvious from the get-go that she was going to end up with Jae Hee, but the development of the romance was very very extensive and the ending was blah. But it was filled with lots of eye-candies to sort of make it worth my time.
Another round of high profile dramas will start next week and we’ll keep you informed of the best series out there.
well…witch amusement ended a little choppy, because it ended in a “and they (yoo hee and mu ryoung) lived happily ever after” kind of finish without telling what happened to the other characters.
I actually had only wanted to see THank You out of these three….but haven’t had time…I’m glad that it’s doing so well. Right now I can’t wait for Yoon Eun Hye’s new drama!
not surprising
Thank You is AWESOME
it made me cry and laugh a lot
i agree! i started out watching witch yoo hee and hello agesshi initially, but downloaded thank you solely because of jang hyuk. but the former two dramas just started to bore me with its cliche-ness while thank you caught me instead, with real feelings and emotions more than just fluffy love. thank you was so so so good!
i totally agree with your comments…
witch yoo hee started out really good.. but idont know what happened to thw writing staff..
it went boring after a few episodes
the devil is really good, but there’s too much happening.. other than that its really worth watching but it hasnt ended yet so who knows
however thank you for me was the bestamong the three
at first i just wanted to watch gong hyo jin and kim sung eun in a drama plus it is a sidushq drama.. and i expect a lot in a sidushq drama
trhank you is very close to me because i was one of those people who really anticipated right from the time i heard it would start airing
and because of this, i feel so proud that it wasnt a disappointment and a lot of people loved it
i could write too much about this drama hahaha
Thank You was so enjoyable for me. It gave me hope in Korean dramas. Witch Yoo Hee, eh felt a bit iffy about it so I never continued it. I’ve heard good comments for The Devil from everyone so I think I’ll give it a try later.
I agree with your comments. I couldn’t bear to continue to watch Witch Yoo Hee after watching about half of the episodes and decided just to read the summaries on javabeans’ site to know how it ended. As for “Thank you”, it has the touching moments that make me cry, so I got hooked pretty easily. “The Devil” is, like you said, very good, if you’re willing to put the time into it. I’m hooked on this drama now (there are so many loose threads left to be brought together), I really can’t figure out how this drama is going to end.
I was following Witch Amusement, still waiting for the English subs. I shall download Thank You now…
i agree with your comments… THE DEVIL is kind of interesting in the first part, but as time goes on… you finally don’t have interest in it, because its a heavy drama for viewers.. but if you are watching from epsisode to episode, i think you’d be more curious about the stOry…
ah thank you was so good! and i dont even know how i started to watch, i think i was just bored, but it was yay.
I’m currently watching “Hello Miss” and gosh…i’m having a BLAST! Lee Da Hae is such an incredible actress
^..XD..me too..i am watching hello! miss too….man i love this drama.. better than witch yoo hee..^__^…
Thank You is the most interesting drama of all three. i tried watching The Devil and Witch Yoo Hee,but although it was nice, but the story wasn’t as captivating as Thank You. the story on Thank You is so simple but so beautifully told. It’s a good welcome back drama for jang hyuk indeed.
The Devil is good at the few first episode, but then it started to go obvious…although the writer is the one who wrote Ressurection, for me Ressurection is much more interesting than The Devil…just an opinion though.
Totally agree with you. THANK YOU is such a heart warming show and it ‘captured’ my heart. The OST is very nice too.
I haven’t seen much of Devil and I’ve yet to watch Thank You, but I intend to. Witch Yoo Hee really gets on my nervs, yoo hee & housekeeper aka jae hee didn’t have any chemistry what so ever. I wanted him and Seung Mi to end up together. They had so much chemistry despite that he ended up with ‘Bitch Yoo Hee’ It really got draggy like you said. I only watched for the sake of the ‘EYE CANDY’, but thats sad though being that I really like Jae Hee charisma on screen. hehe I’m being bias right now, but it would of been really kewl if Han Chae Young played Witch Yoo Hee. I wonder what it would of been like if she replaced her. The reason I didn’t like it was because I didn’t have a feel for there relat. it was like I was about to start hating Yoo Hee. Despite the fact that her char. had an evil attitude, she made annoyed everytime I saw her. I didn’t have that ‘girl viewer w/ the lead female connection’. Girls you know what I mean anywho…
Hello Miss….Okay, I really love Lee Da Hae and the men in her are exceptionally nice to look at. Although, In the begining I was excited, really interested and thought this had a so far good storyline, but the situations were really repititive. It was obvious who she’d end up with, but they didn’t have any romantic interactions at the times that we wanted to see it. Everything we the viewers wanted to see all happend at the end. Soo freaking annoying!! This was a great cast, nice settings, but BAD WRITER!!! Omo Omogoodness! The drama was like a never ending run on sentence. They shouldn’t have mad this a drama, they should of made this into a movie. That way it would of got its full appreciation.
too bad really for witch yoohee coz its really like started with a bang~ but then flopped.
thank you seems really nice ^^
Just want to share my $0.02
Watched all of Witch Yoo Hee – agree with all of you..
Watched Hello Miss – agree that story lacked in parts..
Currently watching the Devil – agree that this is one drama that hooks you in but you have to follow it from the start to get hooked – a little disappointed about the synopsis given.. feel like it would be better to give us less information at the start.. The story though.. is one of the best that I have watched thus far!
*self-proclaimed drama addict*
thank you was actually pretty popular
i love it
it so sad
While I agree Witch had eye candy. The acting of Dennis still falls short. He’s nice to watch but at times his acting makes him unbearable to watch. I actually think many of the male eye candy that are being put in these shows could seriously benefit from some more classes.
I have yet to watch all the above 3 dramas! Sob, sob! Anyway, for various reasons, the only one that I’m really keen to watch is ‘Thank You’. One, because of Jang Hyuk, whose acting I’ve always enjoyed watching; two – the cute little girl in the drama and third – the favourable comments from you nice people that helped me to decide and for which I express my sincere ‘Thank You’!
wow.I wasn’t aware that joo ji hoon has a new drama series,good thing I saw a music video in pop seoul that features him that’s why I tried to search for that video.Based from your comments I think I’ll only download The Devil ang Thank you. I wasn’t impressed with witch amusement.TCTC^^
I’ll prefer Witch Yoo Hee
But after the brief talking about Thank you. I might try it out. And im watching The Devil currently, to say its not bad
I’ve tried the first episode of Thank You and Hello Miss. I don’t know what the story is about yet. I gave up watching it.
I was hooked on Witch Yoo Hee. I really like the story and the cast. Because I am more interested in comedy and romance…Jae Hee’s character really make me hook on this drama.
I THINK WITCH YOO HEE IS GOOD … BUT THE SHOW DID’NT CAUGHT MY ATTENTION … IT HAS SOME COMPLICATED SCENES …
AND THE ENDING IS BAD!!! …. I THINK HELLO,MISS! IS BETTER THAN WITCH YOO HEE!!!
Aloha…here in Honolulu, we’ve just seen Witch Amusement…I think it’s ending soon or has ended; I stopped watching in the middle as it was boring me…Lucifer as
The Devil is called here is fascinating. I love it, but you have to pay close attention. I’ve been taping it so I can watch certain scenes again. I can see why it wasn’t as popular with the general audience when it was up against a warm family drama. Dont’ know if “Thank You” will make it here…hope it does.
I haven’t watch any new Korean dramas yet so I don’t know. These commments depend on viewers so don’t take them as a real part. I think the Devil is the best because it doesn’t fall to the Korean dramas habit (crying, love triangle, sick..). Give the Devil a try to see to new thing. Specially, JJH acting skill has improved and the look too
Take care
I like Witch Yoo Hee, but the ending is kind of the same with My Girl (the girl chase the guy and kiss at the end). maybe because of the same director..hmmm..I watch it for the sake of the cute Kim Jeong Hoon..the starting is interesting but i don’t like the ending.
Hello Miss is ok, worth watching it. But I think the plot is kind of boring..dunno why..in fact i prefer Witch Yoo Hee rather than Hello Miss..my opinion though..
Thank You seem nice..looking forward to watch it!
i’m almost through with witch yoo hee. it was ok. not as good as my girl or delighful girl chungyang but bearable enough. honestly, i only watched it because of kim jung hoon and ja hee, my two great loves. han ga in’s acting leaves a lot to be desired but she’s such a beauty. i really enjoyed looking at her.
Witch Yoo Hee!!!
Kim Jeong-hoon!!!
Ok.. I like witch yoo hee because Kim Jeong-hoon. That’s the only reason for me.
thank you is such a great drama
it’ll probably always be the ‘heartwarming’ drama for everyone.
worth watching!
I totally agree with you. Devil is an amazing drama that has a very good plot, but very confusing at times. While Witch Amusement is the opposite and not confusing and too simple and a bit bland even though the “witch fairytale” beginning was really cute.
Most of the Korean TV dramas that I have seen so far are pretty much the same (either love stories or heart-warming family stories) I already know the ending just by watching couple episodes and soon I get bored with these dramas and quit watching them.
I don’t pay much attention to who the leading actor or actress are for they can be deceitful and disappoint you. I think the plot is more important than anything else!
It’s nice to see that “The Devil” has made a breakthough of the old fashioned Korean Drama making a new look of it “Thumbs up to the whole team” for making this suspense drama.
I hope that every one should stop living in fairy tales and try to see something new with a positive attitude. Give some good remarks and encouragements to those who attempted to make new and good dramas so that this business will be renewed and keep growing with new ideas.
Just a thought to share
shld try watching “thank you”.
it’s really a nice show.
everyone in dat show had good acting skills and the story really capture ur heart.
won’t regret watchin it seriously.
I’ve watched them all!! Mawang is the best,though…Thank you was so sad.Huhu!In witch amusment, I can’t choose between Dennis and Jeong Hoon!
yeah, Thank You is one of my favorite Korean dramas. It was funny because of the cute grandpa. He was the cutest character in the whole drama. haha. and the little girl have an amazing talent. She acts soo well! Everyone should watch this drama. Its so worth it. I think its muchhh better than Witch Amusement. I mean, Dennis Oh is HOT but he cannot act. and his accent is worst than Daniel Henney! and the drama slowly got boring after I got to the 3rd episode so I just stop watching it. and wow. That “The Devil” drama.. Ji Hoon looks really hot in there
Devil is good kind of heavy drama and puzzling mysterious but those reason for me to watch even the ending realy tragic but it still quite good to watch. Expresionless from JJH catch me, Tae Woong still shine with his act (Tae Wong had scene in resurrection kind series as like as devil). Nice work for team Devil because rare fashioned drama is come back, good job, I agree with black pearl “two thumbs up” for devil.
i havent seen Devil yet..but im looking forward to it
witch yoohee..was very interesting at the beginning but it was hard to finish..very hard..only because im an addict i was able to..hehe,
THANK YOU!!..was sooo GOOD!..i love watching jang hyuk!..he’s done a great job in this series, gong hyo jin is really great too!!..once i found out that the drama deals with a disease i automatically thought it was a typical cliched drama..but it wasnt. the acting is done so well i forgot it was acting!
yeah! thank you was sooooow good!! I SECOND WASABI-CHAN ^_^!!
it was great to see the acting… and also i really liked the story line… somewhat it seemed so smooth.. unlike other dramas.. thank you was a “something new/ something different” storyline. this series did not catch the audience’s attention by recruiting good looking/pretty actor/actresses… they recruit professional acting actor/actresses! impressive!
eugene ssi! saranghaeyooo
i’ve seen all three. witch yoo hee: eh…not so good…choppy, but jae hee is cute. thank you: SOOO GOOD!! very cute, heartwarming..and jang hyuk..hot! the devil: very unlike typical dramas, gets a bit draggy but overall v. good. uhm tae woong and joo ji hoon are excellent.
I only watch The Devil. Got tired with the usual cliche of K-drama – romcoms AGAIN? Well made, well done, well acted. You’d soon forget you watch it out of curiosity for JJH’s new drama.
thank you for the detailed reviews~! ive been looking for some now that im drama hunting xD ive watched witch yoo hee, and although it was lacking some key points, i thought it was pretty good =T im interested in watching The Devil and Thank You, but i couldnt find them on any video-streaming websites ! >__<;
Witch Yoo-hee was very interesting and nice story to start off with. I was hooked onto it when I first watched it. But like you all say, towards the ending, it becomes sort of a drag. So much on and off between Han ga in and Jae Hee. They should have just made them together and have more happy moments. Perhaps breaking up once and getting back together could be the climax already. However they made too much of that and audience loses interest. Despite of that, they just jumped straight to the end and threw everyone off.
I’ve bought those three DVD’s, but, only THANK YOU I’ve finished watching. I’ll give THANK YOU an A grade. It’s a warm heartfelt, good story line and very well acted drama. I didn’t know any actors and actresses in this drama, but I was glued to watch them. Well, Bravo for all the crew…!
The Devil is very interesting except it’s alittle dragging when its reached the middle part of the story. In my opinion it should have been more shorter like 16 episodes. Comparing it with CSI – the police are too slow in uncovering the mystery. They should have assign someone to undercover or something that will make the story more exciting. It could have one of the best but dragging.
The story is too common that even grade schoolers can guess the ending.
yea i agree….i wanted to know what happen to dennis oh i mean he got on the plain and the jae-hee got out went to the girl and that was it…i was like huh……
you know,ju ji hoon did a great job in mawang.i think he has talentive in acting.korea drama need to change and turn to somewhat that different from old script.i think ju ji hoon have improved and well chosen script.he dare to chose somthing differ from normal soap acting,and he did good in it.fan of soap may be disappoint his new role but i think it was smart choice….. go go ju ji hoon….
honestly, i think thankyou is overrated. i didnt think it was THAT awesome. :S it was cute enough, but not wow!
Gomapseumnida was great! One of the best drama of 2007! That little girl and the grandpa can really ACT!
I can’t believe you guys don’t like Witch Yoo Hee, I thought it was really sweet and touching.
i just finished watching witch yoo hee..the ending was not good..i think the ending was like that because they are hoping for a “part two”…unfortunately, instead of asking for more, the audience(especially me) seemed have a “give the 20 hours of my life back” feeling..but, some parts of the drama were good, its just that the bad parts dominated the good ones..there were also inconsistencies in the setting or materials used..
an example would be the car that kim jeong hoon used. he had a car accident, the car was supposed to be crushed but during the later part of the 16th episode, kim jeoung hoon used the same car(no damage)to take han ga in to the airport..another example is the cellphone that han ga in used..ok, ill stop..i know im not the only one who noticed it..anyway, han ga in is really gorgeous, i like her nose..lol im planning to watch Thank you and the devil, maybe during christmas break..