# Secret Garden



## violadude (May 2, 2011)

"Secret Garden" is a Korean Drama that I am currently a bit obsessed with haha. My girlfriend showed it to me in December, around Christmas time. At first I thought it was just going to be some girly thing that she was really into and I thought would just be stupid but I was totally wrong. This show is seriously, one of the funniest, sweetest and most beautiful shows I have ever seen. 

Unfortunately, even in a liberal city like Seattle, most of my friends are being racist pricks and think that just because it's a Korean show with Korean actors it wont be as good as an American show (or even a Western show in general).  So it has been very hard for me to gain fellow "Secret Garden" fans around here. Since TC members on a whole must be a bit more diverse set of people, I figured I will try my luck here!

It is hard to give a synopsis of the show without giving things away...but since the names are unusual and it might be hard to keep track of people in the show, I will give a brief synopsis of each main character in order of appearance. Hopefully, this will also give a good, yet vague, enough idea of what the show is about.

Kim Joo Won- A 34 year old President and CEO of a very successful department store (LOEL). His success is a product of nepotism, as his grandfather is ultimately the owner of everything. He is very lazy and not easily impressed. Tends to think quite highly of himself. He also has clausterphobia and takes anti-anxiety pills, distributed to him by his personal physician, Park Ji Hyeon.

Choi Woo Young (AKA: Oska)- Kim Joo Won's cousin on their mothers side. He is a Korean pop star who goes by the stage name Oska. His fame as a musician is also due to his rich relatives. His character is very volatile, and he is known for being hard to work with. Like his cousin, he thinks very highly of himself, but at the same time is generally much kinder and compassionate than Kim Joo Won.

Park Chae Rin- Choi Woo Young's girlfriend at the start of the show. She is a successful actress. She has a spoiled diva-like personality.

Yoon Seul - A successful manager and director at the LOEL department store. She is competitive, independent and a can be a bit of a b*tch. She seems to be after marrying Kim Joo Won.

Gil Ra Im- A poor orphan and tomboyish stuntwoman. She likes being called cool, rather than pretty. She has a fiery spirit and a strong sense of justice, often sticking up for the underdog. She doesn't like fancy things to much. She is a huge fan of Osaka (Choi Woo Young) and says that his music helped her get through her fathers death.

Ah Young- Gil Ra Im's cute but ditzy roomate. Works at the department store and is prone to getting fired.

Director Im - A very quiet, but strong leader of the action school that Gil Ra Im is a part of. He leads everyone in training for stunt roles as well as guides them during production. Has a soft spot for Gil Ra Im. They are not related.

Secretary Kim- Kim Joo Won's right hand man at work. Is quite sensitive and prone to emotional outbursts.

Director Park - Kim Joo Won's great step uncle. He is jealous of his great step nephews high position in the department store and plans to take it over.

Manager Choi- Director Park's zany and strange partner in crime.

Han Tae Sun - A homosexual musician whom Choi Woo Young envies for his authentic musical talents. He is very confident in his abilities and is picky about who he does business with.

So there is a brief overview of the characters. If you are interested, and comfortable reading subtitles, please please please give this show a try.  It seems like just a funny and silly show at first. But trust me! It gets much deeper and as I said, ends up having a very beautiful story, even though it doesn't seem like it at first.

Plus the music is pretty good too (for what it is)! And the acting is great!! The Scenery is beautiful!!

There are only 20 hour long episodes to the whole thing. Here is the first part of the first episode. A link to the next video in line is provided at the end of each video.

http://www.viki.com/channels/1565-secret-garden/videos/12234/1
http://www.mysoju.com/korean-drama/secret-garden/episode-1/

Thanks guys! 

EDIT: Press the speech bubble in the top right hand corner to turn off the commentary.


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## aleazk (Sep 30, 2011)

> Unfortunately, even in a liberal city like Seattle, most of my friends are being racist pricks and think that just because it's a Korean show with Korean actors it wont be as good as an American show (or even a Western show in general). So it has been very hard for me to gain fellow "Secret Garden" fans around here. Since TC members on a whole must be a bit more diverse set of people, I figured I will try my luck here!


what a bunch of asshol...s , how can you be friend of that people?


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

aleazk said:


> what a bunch of asshol...s , how can you be friend of that people?


I know! Right!?


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

It is really hard to ignore than running commentary on the top of the screen, but I'm trying...


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

Lunasong said:


> It is really hard to ignore than running commentary on the top of the screen, but I'm trying...


Oh theres a way to turn that off. Let me find out.


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

Lunasong said:


> It is really hard to ignore than running commentary on the top of the screen, but I'm trying...


Here Lunasong http://www.mysoju.com/korean-drama/secret-garden/episode-1/

Watch from there, and press the little button in the top right corner that looks like a speech bubble


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

YES! thank you. Watched the first upload and liked it. Biker girl is hot. Didn't like the video-game weirdness. Will finish at least ep. 1 tomorrow.

Maybe I can talk you into trying _Nodame Cantabile._


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

Lunasong said:


> YES! thank you. Watched the first upload and liked it. Biker girl is hot. Didn't like the video-game weirdness. Will finish at least ep. 1 tomorrow.
> 
> Maybe I can talk you into trying _Nodame Cantabile._


Don't worry, the video game weirdness (if were talking about the same thing) doesn't happen often.

Well of course if you watch my show I will watch your show


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

violadude said:


> Here Lunasong http://www.mysoju.com/korean-drama/secret-garden/episode-1/
> 
> Watch from there, and press the little button in the top right corner that looks like a speech bubble


This will help!


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

clavichorder said:


> This will help!


I just found out that that button is on both sites...so you can watch from either one.


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## Polednice (Sep 13, 2009)

Huh, I didn't know Maggie Smith was Korean.


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

Polednice said:


> Huh, I didn't know Maggie Smith was Korean.


Yes I have heard that there is an English movie called Secret Garden. The Korean drama that I am talking about here is unrelated though. Not the same story or anything.


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

^^ More importantly to us, it's a musical, often seen in the USA in community theatre productions. My son played in the pit for a production last year. It's a paean to the benefits of fresh air and sunshine to one's health. Plus there are a lot of ghosts.

I have complete ep 1 of Secret Garden and am enjoying it so far. Everyone has really good hair. I shall continue...


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

I wonder if member Science knows about this? Doesnt he live in Seoul?


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

emiellucifuge said:


> I wonder if member Science knows about this? Doesnt he live in Seoul?


Yes I was wondering the same thing. It's one of the most popular shows over there.

Are you going to give it a try?.... lol


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

Lunasong said:


> ^^ More importantly to us, it's a musical, often seen in the USA in community theatre productions. My son played in the pit for a production last year. It's a paean to the benefits of fresh air and sunshine to one's health. Plus there are a lot of ghosts.
> 
> I have complete ep 1 of Secret Garden and am enjoying it so far. Everyone has really good hair. I shall continue...


Yay!  I'm glad you are enjoying it! I have yet to watch Nodame, but I will tonight when my girlfriend goes to work.


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

violadude said:


> Yes I was wondering the same thing. It's one of the most popular shows over there.
> 
> Are you going to give it a try?.... lol


Im watching now!


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

'fraid I didnt really like it.

A lot of it could be down to cultural differences, but none of the character were likeable or relateable. It didnt know what it was, sometimes we had some funny lines, a lot of bitchy personal relations drama and then suddenly a chase scene with a big fight at the end. 
Also I wasnt a huge fan of the way that certain pieces of classical music were trivialised by being included in the background of scenes for no apparent reason.


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

emiellucifuge said:


> 'fraid I didnt really like it.
> 
> A lot of it could be down to cultural differences, but none of the character were likeable or relateable. It didnt know what it was, sometimes we had some funny lines, a lot of bitchy personal relations drama and then suddenly a chase scene with a big fight at the end.
> Also I wasnt a huge fan of the way that certain pieces of classical music were trivialised by being included in the background of scenes for no apparent reason.


awww  ok then. I would say it gets a lot better if that makes a difference. Did you watch the first episode? or the first part of the first episode?


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

Up to ep 3 and liking it! You really can't get the feeling of a show in just one episode. It's funny! And I like the K-pop.


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

http://thedramascenes.com/2010/11/14/k-drama-comments-love-secret-garden-at-the-first-sight/

Found this website that has a pretty good description of everything.


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

Episode 5 - well THAT was unexpected...

I like watching shows from other countries because you get a sense of the culture by seeing how the characters interact with each other, the insides of their houses, and a bit of local scenery.


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

Lunasong said:


> Episode 5 - well THAT was unexpected...
> 
> I like watching shows from other countries because you get a sense of the culture by seeing how the characters interact with each other, the insides of their houses, and a bit of local scenery.


Hehe you got to episode 5 eh? That was unexpected for me too lol


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

Well without giving away spoilers that seems to be a common theme in Japanese animé, don't know about Korean; but I certainly did not see it coming. It's hilarious...I'm partway through ep 6 watching the characters deal...and it's a bit more difficult in live action than in animé.


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

Lunasong said:


> Well without giving away spoilers that seems to be a common theme in Japanese animé, don't know about Korean; but I certainly did not see it coming. It's hilarious...I'm partway through ep 6 watching the characters deal...and it's a bit more difficult in live action than in animé.


You mean they are having a more difficult time? or it is more difficult to follow?


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

I mean that it's a bit easier to characterize that particular trait as an animated character than as a live actor.


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

Lunasong said:


> I mean that it's a bit easier to characterize that particular trait as an animated character than as a live actor.


Oh ya. Well I'd say that these actors are doing a pretty darn good job at it though.


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

Absolutely superb acting.
Was fascinated by a screen shot of Joo Won texting on a cell phone and paused the screen to look at it. The display showed 29 characters. I know you can spell all Japanese with 90 characters (hiragana and katakana) but I don't know anything about Korean, nor how a Japanese cell phone uses text. Would you believe when I took Japanese 10 years ago it was still a rare thing to have a cell phone???
Typing in Japanese.


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## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)

Korea--pro golf, cars, food, classical music. When may we expect a good Korean wine?


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

Vaneyes said:


> Korea--pro golf, cars, food, classical music. When may we expect a good Korean wine?


Are you watching it, Vanyes?


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## ghilsh (Jun 21, 2013)

*love it!*

hi! i love this drama so much that i call myself SEGA addict..lol.. its nice that even a man like you loved it.. and it was nice to know that you and you girlfriend enjoyed it.. guess, not too many couples enjoyed doing things like that.. me and my husband also watched this drama but it was a lot of persuasion before he gives in.. lol.. but when he started it, he was hooked to it also.. my addcition to SEGA started in 2011 and since then, i cannot move on.. lol
when i went to Singapore in 2011 my first stop is to buy an original DVD of SEGA.. i looked for it in every shop we go.. good thing the saleslady gave me 20% discount.. 
last year we went to South Korea but unfortunately i got only dvd holder and wallet with Hyun Bin's face.. i've been looking for item with Ha Ji Won on the picture but never seen one.. maybe because our tour guide sent us to the malls most of the time  i loss count of how many times ive watched this drama.. and the feeling is the same, every time i watched it.. 
i soooo love Ha Ji Won and Hyun Bin.. so perfect.. hope they will end up together (dreaming mode).. lol btw, thanks for the review.. and say my hello to your girlfriend..


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## jani (Jun 15, 2012)

Secret garden?
Dp you mean the book called " My secret garden"


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