Welcome to Kdrama and Ramen

A 999 year old gumiho has been collecting human energy in a bead so that he can become human himself.  If the bead isn’t filled by his 1000th birthday, he will turn into an evil spirit.  But one night a random collision with a young college student on the street causes her to swallow the bead.  The gumiho gets her to sign an agreement that she will live with him until he can find a way to safely retreive the bead.  Strangely, her presence seems to have a positive effect on the bead.  Could she somehow to the key to him finally being able to become human?

Lee Hye Ri as Lee Dam

Lee Dam is a college student who meets Shin Woo Yeo by accident, while trying to take care of her drunk friend.  She is shocked to wake up in Woo Yeo’s home and his explanation does nothing to put her mind at ease.  But once Dam realizes that Woo Yeo really is a gumiho, she agrees to do everything she can to help him.  Her feelings for him quickly blossom into something deeper, but fate isn’t making things easy for them.  Dam finds herself tied with a red string of destiny to Sun Woo, even though her heart has chosen Woo Yeo.  Now two seemingly impossible tasks lay between her and her happy ending.  First she has to find a way to make Woo Yeo into a human, and then together they have to fight for the right to chose their own fate.  

Lee Dam is spunky and determined.  Having sworn off men and dating when she was younger, she’s never really been in a relationship.  People are drawn to her by her simple honesty and innocent charm.  Lee Hye Ri has great natural timing and animated facial expressions that do well in comedy.  She could have easily overplayed this role, but I never felt like she pushed it too far.  I liked her character’s boldness and I loved the way Lee Hye Ri brought the role to life.

Kang Ha Na as Yang Hye Sun

Yang Hye Sun is also a gumiho, and she has known Woo Yeo for centuries.  But she successfully turned her bead blue and became human.  She shows up to try to help Woo Yeo before it is too late for him.  To help Woo Yeo, she starts attending the university where Dam goes so she can keep an eye on her.  Along the way, she ends up falling for Dam’s best friend, Jae Jin.

♥ Chemistry

Lee Hye Ri and Jang Ki Yong have such a natural chemistry.  Whether they were playfully teasing each other or getting passionate, their relationship seemed smooth and believable.  And they were really turning up the heat in some of those steamier kiss scenes!  There was also a nice development between the two of them.  From roommates to friends to lovers, we got to see each step unfold in a way that felt realistic.

♥ Male/Female Relationships

This drama did a nice job of showing mature friendships between men and women.  And it wasn’t just one token friendship, but several.  I thought that Dam and Jae Jin were adorable.  I loved how uncomfortable they were when they pretended to be dating.  And the constant bickering and teasing between Woo Yeon and Hye Sun was perfectly executed.  It was nice that most of these relationships steered clear of any akward love confessions or secret crushes, with Soo Kyung being the one exception.  But even that had a nice twist that kept it unique, and watching Jae Jin try to help Soo Kyung get over him once he found out, was cute enough to make the storyline worth it.  

Sun Woo’s Character

Somehow, Sun Woo seemed like kind of a wasted character to me.  Even his transition from jerk to good guy is fairly lackluster.  I never believed, even for a second that he stood any chance with Dam, red string or not.  We just didn’t see enough development of his character to make him very interesting.  There seemed to be ample opportunity to make us really care about his character, but it never really happened.  

Shape Shifting Story

The plot line about the shape shifting spirit in the middle of this drama felt strangely out of place.  It was too dark to mesh well with the rest of the story and only lasted a couple episodes.  I failed to see any real purpose for it.  And the violent death of editor Ji Eun was more tragic than the story warranted.  While it’s true that we never get to know her character overly well, I still didn’t want to see her heartlessly murdered by an evil entity.  

It’s pretty much happy endings all around with the exception, of course, of our poor second lead.  Sun Woo goes off the study in the US, leaving behind his sister, his prized technology, and his heart.  Let’s hope some lucky American girl snatches him up!  Jae Jin is devastated to find he has been called up to the military, but less apprehensive once Hye Sun promises to wait for him.  Soo Kyung has an encounter with the adorable sunbae, Seok, and after catching her before she falls, we see the red thread binding them together.  Great things are in their future, which I loved.  We even see Dan and Seo Woo in the beginnings of a cute relationship.  Our leads have a rough road, when Woo Yeo is hit by a truck and spends several seasons dead.  But then, one magical day, he is back.  After successfully learning the lesson of what it means to be human and the heart of sacrifice required to love, the mountain spirit takes pity on him and sends him back.  And, we can presume, they lived happily ever after, as humans!