Every once in a while, it’s good to look back at all of the dramas you’ve watched over the years and pull out one that, while a little dated, is still just as fantastic as it was the first time you watched it, which is exactly what I’ve done this week. For those of you who have seen this drama before, you can attest to its greatness and to those of you who may be new to the wonderful world of K-dramas, this is a classic, you won’t want to miss. So, without further ado, I present to you, for your weekend drama marathoning pleasure, Secret Garden.
Airing from November, 2010 through January, 2011 on SBS, Secret Garden was a huge success in both ratings and awards, winning twenty-one different awards between 2010 and 2011. Starring Hyun Bin and Ha Ji Won, Secret Garden appears to be your typical “rich, selfish jerk vs. the downtrodden, yet plucky girl” but things take a turn for the bizarre when a little magic comes into play.
Kim Joo Won (Hyun Bin) is your typical, arrogant DramaLand chaebol’s son, fed up with the constant stream of girls paraded in front of him by his overbearing mother. Coincidentally, Joo Won meets Gil Ra Im (Ha Ji Won), a hard-working and strong-willed, orphaned stunt woman who refuses to put up with any of Joo Won’s crap. Just when it seems these two will never get along, a strange and magical twist of fate lands the both of them in each other’s bodies. With nothing to do but try to help the other out, Joo Won and Ra Im are forced to live each other’s
lives until a cure can be found. As you can imagine, living in your sworn enemy’s body isn’t easy but as Joo Won and Ra Im spend time together, their feelings of loathing slowly soften and they each start to realize there’s more to the other than they first believed. Naturally, this understanding leads to feelings quite unexpected by either party but none of them are truly unwelcome.
What unfolds as this unique plot progresses is an undeniably charming story, full of characters you can’t help but love. If, like me,you can’t get enough of the “I hate you” relationships that slowly transform into true love, you’re going to love Secret Garden. Joo Won and Ra Im’s relationship and the progression of it, is one of the best I’ve ever encountered, in all my years of wandering in DramaLand which is why, if you haven’t already watched Secret Garden you need to and if you have, well, isn’t it time you watched it again? Happy marathoning!