Padam Padam (2011)

GENRE: Romance, Fantasy

SYNOPSIS: Sixteen years ago Yang Gangchil was falsely accused and sentenced to prison for the murder of a friend. During his time in prison he has gained a best friend, Guksu, who insists that he is Gangchil’s guardian angel. After their release from prison, the two work hard to make a new image of themselves and by chance Gangchil meets Jeong Jina. When Jina and Gangchil begin to fall in love, Gangchil’s mother and Jina’s father protest the relationship due to a conflict between the two families over Gangchil’s ex-con status. Meanwhile, Gangchil and Guksu have discovered that an important piece of evidence from Gangchil’s murder case is still floating around and the two take chase to find it and prove Gangchil innocent.

STARRING: Jung Woo Sung (Yang Gang Chil), Lee Eun Hyung (young Gang Chil), Han Ji Min (Jeong Ji Na), Kim So Hyun (young Ji Na), Kim Bum (Lee Guksu), Lee Jae Woo (Kim Young Cheol), Kim Min Kyung (Min Hyo Sook), Na Moon Hee (Kim Mi Ja), Choi Tae Joon (Im Jeong), Jang Hang Sun (Jung Min Shik), Kim Sung Ryung (Ji Na’s mother), Yoon Joo Sang (Prison officer Kim), Kim Joon Sung (Park Chan Gul), Kim Hyung Bum (Oh Yong Hak), Kim Kyu Chul (Prosecutor Joo), Chun Doong (young Yang Kang Woo), Park Jung Woo (Jin Goo), Lee Jong Ho (Yoo Jin), Kim Chung Soo, Jun Gook Hwan

EPISODES: 20

VIEWING SOURCE: March-May 2016; Netflix

King Of Baking, Kim Tak Goo (2010)

GENRE: Family, Romance

SYNOPSIS: Goo Il Joong, president of Geoseong Foods, demands a son to inherit his company, the leader in Korea’s baking industry. In desperation his wife, In Suk, has an affair with Il Joong’s longtime friend and assistant Han Seung Jae. At the same time, Il Joong has an affair with Kim Mi Sun, one of the staff members in Il Joong’s home. Both women later give birth to baby boys, but from the beginning of Kim Tak Gu’s life In Suk and Seung Jae plot together behind Il Joong’s back to find ways to eliminate Kim Tak Gu and his mother to keep Il Joong from putting Tak Gu on the family registry and making him an eligible heir.

STARRING: Yoon Shi Yoon (Kim Tak Goo), Oh Jae Moo (young Kim Tak Goo), Eugene (Shin Yoo Kyung), Jo Jung Eun (young Shin Yoo Kyung), Jun Kwang Ryul (Goo Il Joong), Jun In Hwa (Seo In Sook), Joo Won (Goo Ma Joon), Shin Dong Woo (young Goo Ma Joon), Choi Ja Hye (Goo Ja Kyung), Ha Seung Ri (teen Goo Ja Kyung), Choi Yoon Young (Goo Ja Rim), Kim So Hyun (young Goo Ja Rim), Jang Hang Sun (Oh Doo Yong/Master Pal Bong), Park Sang Myun (Yang In Mok), Hwang Mi Sun (Oh Young Ja), Lee Young Ah (Yang Mi Sun), Jung Sung Mo (Han Seung Jae), Jun Mi Sun (Kim Mi Sun), Lee Han Wie (Heo Gap Soo), Park Sung Woong (Jo Jin Goo), Park Yong Jin (Go Jae Bok), Kim Jung Hak (Doctor Yoon), Jun Sung Ae (woman from Gongju), Jung Hye Sun (Madam Hong), Choi Il Hwa (Park Choon Bae), Kim Sun Hwa (Tak Goo’s landlady), Kwon Yong Woon (Shin Bae), Kim Hyun Ah (Yoo Kyung’s mother), Lee Gun (Secretary Cha), Jun Sung Hwan (fortune teller), Choi Eun Suk (trouble-solving broker), Byun Shin Ho, Jun Hae Ryong, Min Joon Hyun

EPISODES: 30

VIEWING SOURCE: Netflix; June 2013