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You're the Best Lee Soon Shin is a Korean family drama, focusing on the lives of the three Lee sisters and their mother. The drama pays special attention to youngest sister Lee Soon Shin (singer IU) as she struggles to make it in the acting world. Meanwhile her oldest sister Hye Shin (Son Tae Young) returns home from Hong Kong - daughter and secrets along for the ride. And second sister Yoo Shin (Yoo In Na) deals with work and her love-hate relationship with the boy next door, Dr. Park Chan Woo (Ko Joo Won). There is also Shin Joon Ho (Jo Jung Suk), owner of an up and coming talent agency, who takes Soon Shin on. He bets his ex-girlfriend that he can make Soon Shin a star in less than a year. Oh, and there's a birth secret.
How do I explain this drama? I decided I wanted to watch it because I really have enjoyed Jo Jung Suk in his past two dramas, What's Up? and The King 2 Hearts. I also have soft spots for IU (thanks to Dream High), Yoo In Na, Son Tae Young, and Lee Mi Sook. Plus, I really liked the idea of a family drama focusing on the three daughters (ages 34-24) and their struggles in modern day Korea. It also didn't hurt that Writer Jung Yoo Kyung (What Star Did You Come From?) was behind the drama.
Then I started watching the drama, and I quickly realized something: most of the drama comes from the birth secret. Which is, in a way, a good thing. Get that out earlier and deal with it for the whole of the drama. I do hate when secrets in Korean dramas drag. But, it was bad in another way: it made several characters unlikable. And while they were being unlikable due to the secrets of Lee Soon Shin's birth - other characters were just plain unlikable or just had no story. I know they have 50 episodes (well, 34 episodes left at this point; unless they get more episodes, which is likely with the high ratings) but the pacing feels off.
( Character and Story Thoughts. Major Spoilers! )
There you have it. After sixteen episodes, one romance is moving along and the birth secret is moving (though mostly in a circle). Everything else is going rather slow, even for a 50 episode family drama. So, am I still going to watch? Yeah, but I think I'll fast forward through most of it and rely of drambeans to fill in the gaps. At least for most of the drama; I do think it could pick up in the 30s. Would I rec this drama? Maybe. But, it certainly feels like a drama you'd marathon over a month or two rather than one you'd watch over 25 weeks. I think, if anything, I'm watching for the interactions between the three Lee sisters and their respective romantic interests.
How do I explain this drama? I decided I wanted to watch it because I really have enjoyed Jo Jung Suk in his past two dramas, What's Up? and The King 2 Hearts. I also have soft spots for IU (thanks to Dream High), Yoo In Na, Son Tae Young, and Lee Mi Sook. Plus, I really liked the idea of a family drama focusing on the three daughters (ages 34-24) and their struggles in modern day Korea. It also didn't hurt that Writer Jung Yoo Kyung (What Star Did You Come From?) was behind the drama.
Then I started watching the drama, and I quickly realized something: most of the drama comes from the birth secret. Which is, in a way, a good thing. Get that out earlier and deal with it for the whole of the drama. I do hate when secrets in Korean dramas drag. But, it was bad in another way: it made several characters unlikable. And while they were being unlikable due to the secrets of Lee Soon Shin's birth - other characters were just plain unlikable or just had no story. I know they have 50 episodes (well, 34 episodes left at this point; unless they get more episodes, which is likely with the high ratings) but the pacing feels off.
( Character and Story Thoughts. Major Spoilers! )
There you have it. After sixteen episodes, one romance is moving along and the birth secret is moving (though mostly in a circle). Everything else is going rather slow, even for a 50 episode family drama. So, am I still going to watch? Yeah, but I think I'll fast forward through most of it and rely of drambeans to fill in the gaps. At least for most of the drama; I do think it could pick up in the 30s. Would I rec this drama? Maybe. But, it certainly feels like a drama you'd marathon over a month or two rather than one you'd watch over 25 weeks. I think, if anything, I'm watching for the interactions between the three Lee sisters and their respective romantic interests.
