I recently wrote about the Korean drama series Be Strong Geum-soon that YA Entertainment has released with English subtitles. It’s only available in the US, but I got a hold of the first volume on eBay. I got it last week and I’ve watched 14 episodes so far.

The episodes are short. Only about 30 min each, which I think is good. Usually Korean dramas are about 60 min which is a bit long in my opinion. With short episodes it’s easier to just watch an episode for breakfast or whatever. The subtitles are good. The only thing that bugs me a little is that during the preview of the next episode they show the translation of the song that’s playing instead of what the characters are saying. Not a big deal though.

The series is about Na Geum-soon, played by Han Hye-jin, and the hardships she has to go through. It’s not an overly depressing series though (so far as I have watched, at least). It’s not one of those series where they just cry and cry. There’s some crying (I shed some tears during some of the last episodes I watched), but it’s balanced by other things. The series feels Korean, which means it has some clichés, but it feels “fresher” than other series I’ve watched, somehow.

I would advice you NOT to read the synopsis of this series that’s on YesAsia, because it spoils the beginning of the series quite a bit.

I really like Han Hye-jin, but I’ve only seen her in a certain type of roles before. In Friends and Romance she played the jealous friend and was pretty serious. In this series she’s more goofy and “air head”-y, at least in the beginning. Later she’s more easily recognized. This is not really a spoiler as I don’t know if it’s just a temporary thing for Geum-soon.

I was going to post some screenshots here, but I’m too lazy right now. I’ll post some pictures of Han Hye-jin later instead.

I like this show and I’ve decided to commit to it, and now I have boxes 2 and 3 on the way.

People in North America can buy the series at YesAsia (US), but the rest of us have to buy it from someone who’s a bit “flexible” with the licensing and will ship it overseas.

Now I’m going to watch another episode before going to bed :)