Gogh, The Starry Night – Full Review
Welcome to Gogh, The Starry Night -Full Review. An advertising agent in a dating slump suddenly finds herself with five suitors all vying for her attention. If you haven’t watched this drama yet, I recommend checking out my unspoiled review here.
Gogh, The Starry Night
♥ Aired: July 2- July 31, 2016
♥# of Episodes: 20
♥Where to Watch: Viki
♥Genre: Romantic Comedy
♥Starring: Kwon Yu Ri and Kim Young Kwang
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The Story
Go Ho is a 29 year old, single, advertising contractor who has struggled to find success in career and love. And things aren’t looking up when her ex-boyfriend shows up as her new boss and seems to want to pretend nothing happened. But his sudden appearance awakens the competitive nature in some of the other guys she works with. Now she has five suitors and she works with all of them. Is one of them the right guy for her?
The Leads
Kwon Yu Ri as Go Ho
Go Ho works at an advertising agency with a boss who is difficult and impatient. After a painful break-up with her boyfriend, Ji Hoon, last year, she has thrown herself into the job. So she is shocked when he shows up as the new team leader in her company. And it seems like he would like to be more than just a team leader. Not only is Ji Hoon expressing romantic interest, but the whole office is suddenly full of potential suitors, including her prickly former boss. As a way to process her feelings about each guy, she publishes a magazine article for her side job where she rates and anyalzes each guy. But she quickly learns that, for better or for worse, first impressions are often wrong, and people are seldom who they seem.
Go Ho is cheerful and hard-working but she hasn’t been lucky in work or love. When her last relationship ended without any explanation, it left her feeling insecure and hurt. Kwon Yu Ri plays this role well and I love the chaotic charm she brings to the character. She conveys a kind of vulnerablility which makes the men around her want to take care of her. It’s easy to overplay that kind of neediness, but I felt like Kwon Yu Ri handled it well.
Kim Young Kwang as Kang Tae Ho
Kang Tae Ho is a team leader at Go Ho’s advertising agency. Tae has had a crush on her since the first day she showed up on the job, but he has always missed the timing to confess. When Ji Hoon shows up at the company and other guys start expressing an interest in her, Tae Ho decides that after four years of waiting, he isn’t missing his chance this time. Now he just has to convince Go Ho that this hot temper he has shown for years isn’t the real him.
Kang Tae Ho has let his personal frustration with Go Ho influence his actions at work, but his bad temper is really just jealousy. But his secret actions reveal his true heart as he constantly watches over her and takes care of her. Kim Young Kwang is one of those actors who expresses so may emotions through just his face and I loved him in this role. From irritation to longing and everything in between, you could tell exactly what he was thinking and feeling without a single word.
Supporting Characters
Lee Ji Hoon as Hwang Ji Hoon
Hwang Ji Hoon is the ex-boyfriend who broke up with Go Ho a year ago. After realizing that he doesn’t want to live without her, he is hoping to win back her heart. He gets a job at her company so she will have to see him, and gets lucky when she is transferred into his team. But has too much happened for them to start again?
Shin Jae Ha as Oh Jung Min
Oh Jung Min is the handsome, young playboy at the office. Every woman who works there considers him the dream boyfriend. He flirts shamelessly with Go Ho and begs her to date him. But are his feelings sincere or is she just another woman for him to toy with?
Kim Ji Hoon as Park Jin Woo
Park Jin Woo is older and rough around the edges but he is a family man with a heart of gold. He has worked comfortably with Go Ho for years but she never guessed that he might be romantically interested in her. He has always seemed brusque and unkempt but there is more there than meets the eye.
Things I Liked
♥ Fun Cameos
“Gogh, The Starry Night” already has a pretty star-studded cast, so cameos are just an added bonus, but this drama had plenty. Most noteably, the “Pinocchio” reunion of Kim Young Kwang with Park Shin Hye, Lee Jong Sook, and Yoon Kyun Sang. I must admit I gave a delighted squeal when each of them made their sudden appearances.
♥ Bite-Sized Episodes
In terms of kdramas, 20 minute episodes might seem short, although that is a similar length to many American shows, if you factor in commercials. Actually, whether you’re fitting one show into a quick break or want to marathon a couple back to back, 20 minutes is really nice length. And 20 episodes is plenty of time to establish a simple story and relateable characters.
♥ The Leads
Tae Ho and Go Ho are both really likeable. Both as individual characters and as a couple. Kim Young Kwang is absolutely swoon-worthy, with his sly smirky smiles and smoky eyes. And even while pretending to be a grouch, he is attentive to Go Ho’s needs and feelings. And Go Ho escapes all the irritating rom-com troupes. She doesn’t spending a lot of time whining or gloating. She is down-to-earth and relateable.
Things I Didn’t Like
More Choi Chang Sub
It really felt like there were more like 4.5 suitors instead of 5. Before throwing his name into the point breakdown, no one was even aware that Choi Chang Sub was interested. But I love the unique element he brings to the pool of potential boyfriends and I wish they would have given him a bit more screen time to establish his presence.
Office Drama
There is an attempt to broaden the plot a bit with some work drama and competition, but it never really gets very interesting. It makes sense, since a lot of the romance has to happen in the office but the work-related story never really gets off the ground or goes anywhere.
Second Lead
As a second lead, I didn’t feel like Hwang Ji Hoon gave us much to work with, character-wise. I didn’t feel much chemistry between him and Go Ho and the role came across as pretty flat, in my opinion. Ji Hoon is set up as the only real competition to Tae Ho, but I just didn’t find anything interesting about his character.
The Ending
“Gogh, The Starry Night” is a simple drama with a nice happily ever after. In the ends, Go Ho meets with Ji Hoon to tell him that while she has fond memories of their time together and wishes him happiness in the future, she has someone else who is her present. Tae Ho shows up, looking worried that she will choose Ji Hoon, but Go Ho comes to him and tells him that she has made her choice clear and they hug. There is a cute voice-over where Go Ho talks about how her ratings for each guy has changed as she has gotten to know them better. The ending scene shows Go Ho waiting to meet Tae Ho after a meeting. He shows up, still acting like the prickly boss we have seen, until he flashes that beautiful smile and holds out his hand to her. They walk away, laughing and teasing each other, obviously very happy together.
Should I Watch
I don’t usually bother to do reviews on the shorter webdramas, but I was so suurprised at how much I enjoyed this one, that I decided to. “Gogh The Starry Night is a cute romantic comedy with some very charming characters. At about half the length of the average kdrama, you shouldn’t expect a huge amount of character development or complex plot, but it gave enough story for me to become invested in the characters and entertained by their web of interactions. Most true romantic comedies are light on plot anyway, so in this case, the length is actually an asset. The story is simple and to the point, without a lot of wasted material. if you are looking for a quick binge with a fun romance, I recommend you give this one a try. I give “Gogh, The Starry Night” a 8 out of 10 ramen.
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