Cheongdamdong Alice (SBS 2012 - 2013)

[deniseg]

Title: 청담동 앨리스 / Cheongdamdong Aelliseu
Genre: Romance, comedy
Episodes: 16
Broadcast network: SBS
Broadcast period: 2012-Dec-01 to 2013-??
Air time: Saturday & Sunday 21:55

A drama about an average commoner woman Han Se Kyung (Moon Geun Young) becoming the daughter-in-law of a Cheongdam-dong family.
Han Se Kyung is a talented young designer who lives each day with the motto "Strive for your dream to succeed". Until she met Cha Seung Jo (Park Shi Hoo) a president of a luxury brand shop in Cheongdam-dong who will change her life.
From Dramawiki

Main Cast
Moon Geun Young as Han Se Kyung (27)
Park Shi Hoo as Cha Seung Jo (33)
So Yi Hyun as Seo Yoon Joo (27)
Kim Ji Suk as Tommy Hong (35)

Extended Cast
Kim Yoo Ri as Shin In Hwa

Production Credits

Production Company: KP&SHOW (케이피앤쇼)
Producer: Lee Sung Hoon (이성훈), Joo Dong Min (주동민)
Director: Jo Soo Won (조수원), Shin Seung Woo (신승우)
Original writing: Novel Cheongdam-dong Duck (청담동 오두리) by Lee Hye Kyung (이혜경)
Screenwriter: Kim Ji Woon (김지운), Kim Jin Hee (김진희)

Official website
http://alice.sbs.co.kr/

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[Ethlenn]

So far, drama progresses in a wonderfully intricated way. Can't complain much.
There is some serious fangirling on twitter and tumblr...

[TempestRider]

planning to watch this drama..i think, considering Ethlenn's comment, i will start watching this one sooner than i thought..

[nangelique]

I've been watching this drama... It started out good but the main girl is really irritating me. And not because she's the usual pushover type but because of what her aim is... So greedy and materialistic, she's not even that poor. ARGH, lol, I really wanna rage about it.

[Ethlenn]

Well, I kinda like main heroine here, because now she's in a very, very uncomfortable position. Usually kdrama lady dreams about love and is able to become a doormat for an abstract idea, yet here SK wants to break away from lack of money.
And if anyone tells me they never dreamed to be rich, I'll have a nice laugh.
Her situation is more complicated now, she wants that but she knows she's committing something against her own nature (because she's just a usual gal).

She'll mature, just like Alice in Wonderland.

[Peggy]

This drama has not yet appeared in my area. I love PSH but I just can't stand the actress in the lead role. She just sets my teeth on edge and always has. I will give it a try when it comes around bu not so sure I can really get into it at all.

[nangelique]

Well, I kinda like main heroine here, because now she's in a very, very uncomfortable position. Usually kdrama lady dreams about love and is able to become a doormat for an abstract idea, yet here SK wants to break away from lack of money.
And if anyone tells me they never dreamed to be rich, I'll have a nice laugh.
Her situation is more complicated now, she wants that but she knows she's committing something against her own nature (because she's just a usual gal).

She'll mature, just like Alice in Wonderland.

Yeah, I guess so. I think the reason why I'm really irritated is because I liked her so much in the beginning and I don't like what she's becoming. I really want her to get everything straight and go back to being Candy. But she has gotten herself into a co placated situation so I know it won't be that easy to just suddenly back out.

Still, the show is pretty good. I just hope she doesn't do something that will really make me hate her, even if you say that it's because she did it for her family's lack of money. (:

[pekkauwer]

Just random question, that yoo ri gonna be a bad girl again? O.o

[Sham26]

Since the start of that drama ,I read most of the time people complaining about the female lead character and that they do not agree with her , that they hate her to beat because she's so materialistic and that their forbid the way she's taking.
That's really getting on my nerves (may be not) , I know that people don't want to watch "real" drama because of course drama is about fantasy and good wins over bad! or may be people think/pretend they are so pure and they don't care about money or getting married to a rich guy...
The people I dislike most are those people pretending to be good and nice, nobody actually is, they are just fake !
I like the female character, she's real to me and she's not the usual kdrama female lead, you don't get bored of the same character everytime ?
People should watch "Can we get married" ( which I know isn't everyone's cup of tea ), life isn't easy as you think.
When you tell me yoy don't like the female lead because the actress is annoying and has no chemistry with the male lead...now I totally agree with you.
Now that I let my bitchy soul talk, I'm off to watch this week's episodes.

[nangelique]

But that's the thing though, I don't like how she's pretending to be good and nice to the President to get the money. (Or maybe I'm just biased to Park Shi Woo). I'm not saying I hate her, I'm just really irritated on how her personality is turning into... I mean, even in reality if I met someone like her, I probably wouldn't be that fond of them either.
I'm not complaining that it's not the typical/cliche pushover-good-girl vs all-evil (too extreme? ) but it just breaks my heart how she's turning bad, or at least keeps doing what she's doing, even though she already knows the President likes her.
And yes, I am really quite sick of the usual female leads in dramas... sometimes, I feel like the writers just recycle female charaters over and over again and just tweak a few things.
(no hate, and did i just ramble? hope you guys understood it.)

[Ethlenn]

Usually gold-diggers are those "other ladies", those who want to break main couple and are scheming and plotting etc. here, we have one as the main lead. It's quite an unusual for a drama to make such character the lead.
People like to sympathize with main couples and kill everyone who stands in between. But here we can sympathize only with poor, crazy SJ who is coming through the reversed track - from a (crazy) scheming man to an honest one. (ref.: SK goes normal girl --> materialistic b*tch).

I think SK will learn that betraying her own soul in order to live in luxury is too high of a price to pay. SJ will forgive her cause he's in fact able to produce overwhelming and genuine love (afterall, he gave up on family, inheritance before just for one woman who betrayed him). Plus, he's an idiot.

As for lack of chemistry, well, PSH always had a great one with his ladies, and I don't see lack of it on his part (yeah, that's my bias talking), and Korean actresses are known to have an on-screen chemistry of a dead frog with anyone, so...

I'd like to have a nice house too, but not at all costs. Still not at all costs.

[Sham26]

Why nobody's hating In-Hwa, she wants to marry someone for his money, it's not called dirtiness in that case !
Se-Gyung isn't bad, bad people don't have a conscience. What I wanted to say is highlighting that money isn't everything, you can't build a relationship without trust, honnesty and security. Yoon-Jo's case, she married a rich man but her relationship is so fragile and can be destroyed with a simple wind blow , and she's living like a maid with an inferiority complexe ! But like she said, even if she tells someone that she'snot living happily they won't believe her. That's the point of the drama I think ^^

Well about the chemistry, I am biased too and I don't like the actress this is why I don't see it. or may be I am just jealous

@nangelique : no hate of course , glad we can share some thoughts here ^^

[Ethlenn]

and she's living like a maid with an inferiority complexe ! But like she said, even if she tells someone that she'snot living happily they won't believe her. That's the point of the drama I think ^^

I feel exactly the same way. And actually no one can take a pity on such people because "it's all they ask for". But sometimes dreams about rich/famous and reality of being rich/famous are completely different yet no one cares.

And oh yeah, I hate IH, I raged on twitter when drama started and I wanted to pair her up with Tommy, they are such a perfect pair of slaaaaam.

[nangelique]

@Sham26 - Haha, that's good thanks.

And yes, I don't like IH either. I actually thought that she might be a little bit nice from the first two eps cause she didn't get along well with Yoon-Jo, lol but then the plot developed and argh. Lol, and I reaaaaally don't like Tommy as well. I want to smack his face every time I see him. Why can't he just focus on designing and stop meddling with other people's lives?

[pekkauwer]

I havent watch this drama yet i know yoo ri is evil :p

[nangelique]

Just finished watching episode 10! Lol, getting happier with the plot. Won't put any spoilers but I'm feeling better about Han Se Kyung now.

[Ethlenn]

I have a bad feeling about this. Probably my first PSH drama I'll drop and I watched and enjoyed Family's Honor. WTF is this mess?

[Just.Me]

ok ok its lets go back to reality, have you been in the female lead actress SHOES??

no?

then please back off

[nangelique]

I really wasn't sure about the show before episode 10, but because my parents watched it as well I couldn't just leave it (and PSH). Everything got better for me since ep10. I liked how Se Kyung was slowly becoming good again... Well, in a way... but her main fault was starting to deceive CSJ and her main intentions might have changed or the fact that she actually loved CSJ won't make up for that.
I reaaaaaaally do NOT like In Hwa. She is so arghhhhhh. Her pride got so hurt after CSJ turned her down and just cannot admit that she lost.
I kind of liked how SYJ, TH and Se Kyung worked together...and also I can see that Tommy Hong has been changed by SK. Oh sighs... lol. He likes her definitely. I like him more now that he's changed.

Waaaahhh, I don't know what to say... There's so much to say. I feel really bad for CSJ. But I hope everything turns put well.

**I also just realised that some of the old photos of Se Kyung that she left Chairman Cha were taken from "My Little Bride" )